Arriving in Luanda on Monday, Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly began representing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the seventh African Union–European Union Summit, held in the Angolan capital on 24–25 November. Madbouly is accompanied by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and is scheduled to attend the opening session and deliver Egypt's address during the first plenary titled "Peace, Security, Governance and Multilateralism". He will also hold a series of bilateral discussions with participating leaders. On the margins of the summit, Madbouly met Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in the latest of the day's bilateral engagements. The talks were attended by Foreign Minister Abdelatty and Egypt's ambassador to Angola. Madbouly praised the steady expansion of cooperation between Egypt and Croatia, citing converging positions on regional and international issues and the recent increase in high-level exchanges. He highlighted the visit of Croatia's president and first lady to Cairo earlier this month for the inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum, as well as the first-of-its-kind visit by Egypt's Minister of Awqaf to Zagreb. He also noted the upcoming visit of the Croatian speaker of parliament to Cairo for the meeting of speakers of parliaments from Union for the Mediterranean states. The prime minister thanked Croatia for its continued support of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Union, and for Plenković's participation in the working dinner hosted by the President of the European Council in honour of President al-Sisi during the first Egypt–EU summit in Brussels in October. Madbouly underlined the need to translate political alignment into broader economic cooperation. He said current trade volumes do not reflect the strength of political relations and pointed to opportunities in trade, energy, tourism and shipbuilding. He also called for moving ahead with the proposal to launch a Ro-Ro line between Egyptian and Croatian ports to facilitate the export of perishable agricultural goods to Croatia and onward to Eastern Europe. He urged swift activation of agreements signed during Plenković's visit to Cairo in February 2025, particularly the memoranda of understanding on investment promotion and cooperation between the ports of Alexandria and Rijeka, alongside the 2025–2028 cultural cooperation programme. Madbouly also expressed Egypt's readiness to provide skilled labour to meet Croatian market needs, especially in construction and tourism, noting that about 7,000 Egyptian workers are currently employed in Croatia. He welcomed further regulated recruitment of trained workers. Turning to regional developments, Madbouly outlined Egypt's position on the situation in Gaza and ongoing efforts to implement the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement in coordination with regional and international partners. He invited Croatia to take part in Egypt's planned conference on early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza. Plenković thanked the Egyptian side for the warm reception during his recent visit to Cairo and commended the cultural significance of the Grand Egyptian Museum. He reaffirmed Croatia's support for strengthening Egypt–EU ties, noting his country's presidency of the MED-9 group and its role in advancing Euro-Mediterranean relations. He also expressed interest in expanding cooperation across multiple sectors, including skilled labour mobility, and referred to signs of improved stability in the Red Sea and rising traffic through the Suez Canal. Plenković invited Madbouly to visit Croatia at an early date, a proposal the Egyptian prime minister welcomed, stressing the importance of consolidating recent progress in bilateral relations. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Abdelatty underscored the importance of enhancing trade by improving maritime connectivity between Egyptian and Croatian ports.
