Press Statements
State Visit by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to the Arab Republic of Egypt, 19 to 22 September 2025
Country
Egypt
21 September 2025
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam called on Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who also hosted a State Banquet. Both Presidents re-affirmed the warm and longstanding relations between Singapore and...
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President Tharman Shanmugaratnam called on Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who also hosted a State Banquet. Both Presidents re-affirmed the warm and longstanding relations between Singapore and Egypt, in the lead up to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2026. Egypt was the first Arab country to recognise Singapore’s independence in 1965. Since then, bilateral relations have grown steadily.
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. 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.
President Tharman thanked President Al Sisi for Egypt’s facilitation of Singapore’s humanitarian assistance for Gaza since November 2023. He welcomed the collaboration between the health ministries, noting 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.
President Tharman also welcomed closer people-to-people ties, exemplified by the generations of students pursuing higher education in Islamic studies at Al Azhar University. President Tharman thanked President Al Sisi for Egypt’s support in the continued cooperation between Al Azhar University and the newly established Singapore College of Islamic Studies.
President Tharman extended an invitation for President Al Sisi to visit Singapore in 2026 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Following their meeting, the two Presidents held a joint press conference and witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding on cooperation in the areas of economy, maritime transport, health, agri-research, micro, small and medium enterprises and startup development, capacity building and social protection (see list at Annex).
President Tharman also met Egypt Prime Minister Dr Mostafa Madbouly, who updated President Tharman on Egypt’s economic developmental plans and investment opportunities for Singapore companies. The two leaders also agreed that there was scope to step up bilateral economic cooperation and for both sides to work closely together to drive innovation in port, airport and water management.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
21 SEPTEMBER 2025
ANNEX
LIST OF MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING
(as of 20 September 2025)
Signing Witnessed by President and Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi
No. | Title | Singapore Signatory | Egypt Signatory |
1 | MOU on Maritime Field Cooperation The Egypt Maritime and Transport Sector (MTS), under the Ministry of Transport, oversees the development of 55 Egyptian ports. The MOU provides a broad framework for Singapore to explorecooperation viz. the creation of 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 covers capacity building and cooperation to explore funding opportunities and relevant companies to implement these potential projects. | Singapore Cooperation Enterprise | Ministry of Transport – Maritime Transport Sector |
2 | MOU on Promoting Economic Partnership The Egypt Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation oversees international cooperation.This MOU provides a broad framework of cooperation in the ports and maritime sectors, capacity building, cybersecurity and digitalisation among others. It will also facilitate cooperation envisaged under a separateagreementbetween SCE and the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone ona feasibility study to transform West Port Said into a Smart Port. | Singapore Cooperation Enterprise | Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation |
3 | MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Development This MOU will establish a framework for close cooperation in the field of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and startups development, with the aim of supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The areas of collaboration include the digitalization of Egypt’s MSME National Platform, advisory on Egypt’s National Strategy for MSME and startups development, and capacity building. | Singapore Cooperation Enterprise | Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Development Agency |
4 | MOU on Potential Cooperation in the Field of Social Protection The MOU provides a broad framework of cooperation betweenMSFandMinistry of Social Solidarity tofacilitate knowledge exchange, enhance technical expertise and capacity building, strengthen institutional collaboration, and support policy development and best practices in the fields of social services, family and child development, women’s issues, and social enterprises. | Ministry of Social and Family Development | Ministry of Social Solidarity |
5 | MOU on Health Cooperation The MOUprovides a broad framework of cooperation including the exchange of delegations, experts and health personnel, in addition to the exchange of experience and knowledge in various fields of health. The various fields of cooperation include theprevention and control of non-communicable diseases, management ofhospital 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. | Ministry of Health | Ministry of Health and Population |
6 | MOU on Agricultural Cooperation To meet its food security needs, Egypt has been reclaiming desert land for agricultural production. This MOU arose from Egypt’s interest to improve the productivity and resilience of large-scale rice cultivation on such land, either for local consumption or export. Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and the Agricultural Research Centre are carrying out preliminary trials to see how Asian rice varieties perform in the harsh conditions on such land. The MOUpromotes exchange of expertise and short-term scientific visits,includingtheformation of working groups inexecuting joint projects on topics of mutual interest to both parties. The development of climate-ready rice varieties that have increased tolerance for heat, salinity, droughts, floods, and diseases, will be important for food security for both Africa and Asia. | Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory | Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation – Agricultural Research Centre |
7 | MOU on Cooperation in Training and Development of Government Capability The MOU provides a broad cooperation framework to exploreand enhancecooperationbetween the Civil Service College and the National Training Academy (NTA),through the exchange of knowledge and expertise in the fields of public sector leadership, governance, and administrationincluding facilitating thematic study visits by Egyptian officials to Singapore. | Civil Service College | National Training Academy |