Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday and expressed his country’s “keen interest” in expanding partnership with Pakistan in various fields, according to a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat.
Abdelatty arrived in Islamabad last night for a two-day official visit and called on Zardari at Aiwan-i-Sadr after meeting Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar earlier today.
The statement by the President’s Secretariat said Zardari told the Egyptian FM that “Pakistan values its longstanding ties with Egypt, which are rooted in shared faith and mutual respect, and looks forward to advancing the relationship in a more structured and forward-looking direction”.
He also conveyed warm greetings for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
According to the statement, the president noted that “this year marks 77 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and expressed the hope that both sides will reinvigorate cooperation in trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges”.
He encouraged greater Egyptian investment in sectors where opportunities are expanding, including energy, logistics, construction, agriculture, mining and IT, the statement said.
For his part, Abdelatty delivered a message from the Egyptian president and expressed “Egypt’s keen interest in expanding its partnership with Pakistan in various fields”, it added.
The two sides also exchanged views on key regional and international issues, reaffirming their resolve to work together for peace, stability, and prosperity.
Earlier, the statement said, the two leaders held a one-on-one meeting and exchanged views on key issues of mutual interest.
Foreign Minister Dar, Senator Sherry Rehman, PPP leader Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, the foreign affairs secretary and Ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan Dr Ihab Mohamed Abdelhamid Hassan also attended the meeting.
Pakistan to share list of 250 businesses
Before meeting with Zardari, Abdelatty also met Dar separately and the two addressed a joint press conference.
Dar said during the press conference that he and Abdelatty had a “very, very focused discussion” today on how their nations could contribute to elevating the business-to-business upscaling of the bilateral activities, which the deputy PM termed as “surely not commensurate”, with around $300 million.
“With the depth and the affection the two countries have, […] Pakistan will share with Egypt a comprehensive list of 250 Pakistani business houses representing key sectors of the economy,” Dar announced.
“These businesses will be facilitated and supported to enhance bilateral commercial engagement,” the deputy premier highlighted.
The deputy PM detailed that the business houses will be chosen from “across the board” and through due consultation.
The list of businesses “representing each sector of the economy” will be initially prepared by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) in collaboration with the other chambers of commerce. Dar asserted there would be a “very transparent selection of those who really deserve and are willing to work and cooperate, and enhance the business”.
The businesses, after “due diligence in Egypt”, would be declared as the “white list”, Dar said. Noting that the foreign ministry was receiving complaints of waiting too long to obtain a business visa “very frequently”, the minister said those concerns will “cease at least to the extent of these top 250” businesses.
Dar further said that in the three-month period after three months have passed since the first list, Islamabad would select another 250 businesses to take the original list to 500.
He added that the Egyptian FM had also agreed to “process the list and that would again be added to the existing white list at that time from 250 to 500”.
The deputy PM went on to announce that a Pakistan-Egypt Business Council will be established after that to institutionalise private sector cooperation and to promote mutually beneficial commercial partnership and B2B business promotion between Pakistan and Egypt.
“Once these two steps are done, Pakistan and Egyptian Business Forum will also be established,” Dar stated, adding that it would be co-chaired by the two foreign ministers.
Its first meeting would be convened in Cairo in the second quarter of 2026, to advance trade, investment and economic collaboration.
Dar also acknowledged with “little embarrassment” that the Pakistan-Egypt Joint Ministerial Commission had not met since 2010, and neither had the two countries held bilateral political consultations.
Therefore, it was decided that the political consultations would be held in the first quarter of 2026, with Egypt nominating an assistant minister to head its delegation, while the Pakistani team would be led by the foreign secretary.
“They will do the entire preparatory work and agenda for the Joint Ministerial Commission meeting, which has not taken place in 15 years, to be held in the second quarter of 2026,” Dar explained.
“Discussions today reaffirm the strength of Pakistan-Egypt relations, and our shared commitment to further enhance bilateral cooperation across political, economic, defence, cultural and people-to-people domains,” Dar said.
“We agreed to work towards a more structured framework of cooperation and to explore new avenues of partnership,” the deputy premier noted, adding he was confident that the visit would “open new avenues of practical cooperation” between the two countries.
Dar noted that the two leaders also assessed the regional developments, with “particular focus on the grave situation in Gaza”.
“Pakistan appreciates Egypt’s vital role in humanitarian support, mediation efforts and diplomatic engagement to uphold the ceasefire and safeguard the rights of the Palestinian people.”
“Pakistan values Egypt as a key partner in the Muslim world and looks forward to continued engagement at all levels,” Dar affirmed.
The two ministers also discussed India-occupied Kashmir, Afghanistan and cooperation at multilateral fora.
Dar noted Abdelatty’s visit reflected the “longstanding friendship” between the brotherly countries of Pakistan and Egypt.
The foreign minister said his Egyptian counterpart also announced the doubling of scholarships this year for Pakistani scholars who wish to study in Al Azhar University.
“While staying in the religious domain, Al Azhar University [offers] courses on how to eliminate terrorism,” Dar pointed out, adding that scholars would learn how to tackle the menace as per religious teachings.
The deputy premier went on to mention that he and Abdelatty met frequently on the sidelines of various global moots this year: “This year, we have met at least half a dozen times if I’m not wrong.”
Islamabad, Cairo agree to intensify coordination to counter cross-border terrorism
At the outset of his remarks, Abdelatty conveyed Egypt’s condolences over the “tragic loss of lives and injuries” in the recent terrorist attacks in Islamabad and Peshawar.
“We stand in full solidarity with Pakistan in the fight against violent extremism and terrorism,” the Egyptian top diplomat affirmed.
“The issue of fighting terrorism is extremely important and we stand ready to share with our brothers and sisters here in Pakistan our very successful experience in fighting terrorism through a holistic approach focusing not only on the security dimension, but also socio-economic dimensions, as well as fighting extremist ideology through the very moderate religious institutions in Egypt, notably the Al-Azhar al-Sharif, Dar Al Ifta and the Ministry of Waqf.”
The Egyptian FM said, “In the security domain, we have agreed to intensify our coordination to counter cross-border terrorism and extremism.
“Furthermore, we are eager to leverage this spiritual and intellectual leadership of Al-Azhar al-Sharif to strengthen our joint efforts in promoting moderate discourse and combatting extremist ideology,” he added.
Terming the discussions “extensive and constructive”, Abdelatty said they focused on how to “enhance the partnership that exists between Egypt and Pakistan, and reaffirm our commitment to further strengthen and deepen bilateral cooperation across all areas, including political dialogue, economic partnership, trade, investment, security and defence cooperation, and cultural and educational exchanges”.
‘Agreed to intensify coordination on the Palestinian cause’
The two ministers also exchanged views on regional and international developments, stressing the “importance of peaceful resolution of conflicts, respect for sovereignty, and adherence to the principles of international law and the UN charter”.
“This visit comes at a pivotal moment of our region,” Abdelatty said, recalling that Egypt, alongside Pakistan and other countries, “mediated and voted” on the Gaza ceasefire agreement that was signed in Sharm El-Sheikh.
“Egypt will continue uncompromising efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict according to international law and UN Security Council resolutions, and we are working very hard with Pakistan on that.“
The Egyptian FM asserted that the two-state solution was the “only viable path towards genuine and lasting regional stability, which could only be achieved through the creation of a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state based on the UN pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
“It is within this context we agreed to intensify our coordination and consultations on the Palestinian cause, particularly the situation in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip,” he added, appreciating Pakistan’s “unwavering solidarity and support for Egypt’s efforts to achieve a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause”.
Abdelatty went on to invite Pakistan to an upcoming conference on the reconstruction of Gaza.
“I reiterated Egypt’s willingness to work closely with Pakistan to address global challenges, from countering terrorism to climate change to food security,” the diplomat said.
Abdelatty appreciated Pakistan’s “steadfast support in various multilateral forums”, affirming that Cairo remained committed to close coordination on issues of mutual concern.
Sky’s the limit for our cooperation: Egypt FM
Addressing the media prior to his meeting with Dar, FM Abdelatty termed Pakistan his “second home country”.
“I would also like to convey our deep appreciation of our very cordial relation with Pakistan,” he said, acknowledging “common challenges” on the economic, political and security levels.
“That, of course, encourages us to work together and to cooperate in terms of exchange of best practices and expertise to help each other, and to confirm that stability and peace and development are the main pillars of our strategic partnership,” Abdelatty said.
“We would like to elevate our relationship to the strategic level,” the minister added.
Noting that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had instructed him to further enhance bilateral cooperation with Islamabad, Abdelatty said, “Sky’s the limit for our cooperation.”
He expressed Egypt’s willingness to “reinvigorate the existing institutional mechanism of dialogue and cooperation” between Pakistan and Egypt, especially the JMC.
“So it’s timely now to convene the upcoming joint committee meeting. We would also like to agree on a roadmap for our cooperation, which will cover all areas of cooperation — political, economic, investment, trade, security, religious and cultural dimensions.”
“Pakistan holds its relations with Egypt in very high regard and we view this visit as an important opportunity to advance our common objective,” the deputy premier highlighted.
“I appreciate the positive momentum in our recent engagements at different levels, including our interactions on the margins of regional and multilateral fora around the globe,” he added.
“Egyptian and Pakistani brotherhood is broadly known all over the world,” he said, adding that both he and Abdelatty had a great responsibility to take their countries’ diplomatic, economic, trade, business, security, and defence relations to a “much higher level”.
Earlier today, Dar received FM Abdelatty upon his arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Office said on social media platform X.
More to follow
