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RIYADH: Singapore and Egypt have agreed to explore the feasibility of a free trade agreement, with both countries seeking to deepen economic ties and leverage their respective strategic advantages.   

The agreement was reached during President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s official visit to Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi ahead of the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations in 2026.  

Singapore and Egypt have a longstanding foundation for economic cooperation, anchored by a Bilateral Investment Treaty signed in 1997 and in force since 2002. 

The agreement ensures fair and equitable treatment for investors, free transfer of returns, and access to international arbitration. 

 In 2006, both countries issued a Declaration of Intent to negotiate a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, reflecting a shared ambition to deepen trade and investment links. These initiatives laid the groundwork for current discussions on a formal free trade agreement. 

According to the new statement issued by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Both Presidents agreed that it was timely to explore the feasibility of a free trade agreement between Singapore and Egypt to take advantage of the two countries’ complementary strengths and their strategic locations.”   

Bilateral ties, which began in 1965 when Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Singapore’s independence, have since expanded across sectors, including health, maritime, education, and technical cooperation.  

President Tharman and President Al Sisi “welcomed the expansion of bilateral cooperation into new areas such as the health sector, agri-research, technical education, capacity building within government, and smart ports and the maritime sector.”   

They also witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding covering a range of areas including economy, maritime transport, health, agri-research, micro, small and medium enterprises and startup development, capacity building and social protection.  

One MoU on maritime field cooperation between Singapore Cooperation Enterprise and Egypt’s Ministry of Transport – Maritime Transport Sector aims to create “an interactive digital map for the MTS that includes logistics corridors, sea, in-land and dry ports, planned and operating logistic areas as well as licensed storage sector and industrial zones.”   

It also includes provisions for capacity building and exploring project funding.  

A second MoU on promoting economic partnership, signed between SCE and the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, “provides a broad framework of cooperation in the ports and maritime sectors, capacity building, cybersecurity and digitalization.”   

It will also “facilitate cooperation envisaged under a separate agreement between SCE and the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone on a feasibility study to transform West Port Said into a Smart Port.”  

In the area of enterprise development, an MoU between SCE and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Development Agency will establish a framework for close cooperation with the aim of supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth.  

Collaboration areas include the “digitalization of Egypt’s MSME National Platform, advisory on Egypt’s National Strategy for MSME and startups development, and capacity building.”  

The Ministry of Social and Family Development and Egypt’s Ministry of Social Solidarity signed an MoU on social protection, outlining cooperation in knowledge exchange, enhancing technical expertise and capacity building, strengthening institutional collaboration, and supporting policy development and best practices in the fields of social services, family and child development, women’s issues, and social enterprises.  

In health, the Ministry of Health and Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population agreed to collaborate in fields such as the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, management of hospital health information systems and quality assurance, innovative healthcare solutions, healthcare supply chain, research and development in medical biotechnology, aged care policy, green transformation and eco-friendly health facilities.  

Agricultural cooperation is also being advanced through an MOU between Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and Egypt’s Agricultural Research Centre.   

It supports joint efforts to improve the productivity and resilience of large-scale rice cultivation” on reclaimed desert land and promotes the “development of climate-ready rice varieties that have increased tolerance for heat, salinity, droughts, floods, and diseases.”  

Finally, the Civil Service College and Egypt’s National Training Academy signed an MOU to strengthen public sector capability through the exchange of knowledge and expertise in the fields of public sector leadership, governance, and administration including facilitating thematic study visits by Egyptian officials to Singapore.  

President Tharman also thanked President Al Sisi for Egypt’s facilitation of Singapore’s humanitarian assistance for Gaza since November 2023.   

The ministry noted that “Singapore was the first foreign country that Egypt has allowed to deploy doctors in Egyptian hospitals to provide specialist medical care for Palestinian civilians.”  

To mark the upcoming diplomatic milestone, President Tharman extended an invitation for President Al Sisi to visit Singapore in 2026.