Egypt wants a formal seat beside the countries of Southeast Asia. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty raised Cairo’s proposal to become a “sectoral dialogue partner” of ASEAN in talks with Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs, Zaqy Mohamad. Closer institutional engagement with the bloc, Abdelatty said, would give a wider framework for cooperation between Egypt and Southeast Asian countries.
Singapore: money and old agreements
The two men also spoke about drawing more Singaporean investment to Egypt and localising priority industries there. Abdelatty pointed to the incentives on offer through the Suez Canal Economic Zone. They went over progress on the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed during the Singaporean president’s visit to Egypt in September 2025. Next year the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Gaza, the Red Sea and Sudan
On Gaza, Abdelatty called for progress toward the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, withdrawal of Israeli forces and full, sustained humanitarian access. He urged early recovery and reconstruction work and asked that the national committee now administering Gaza be empowered before the Palestinian Authority returns to its responsibilities in Gaza and the West Bank.
In a separate phone call, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Abdelatty discussed the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen and what they mean for security in the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said the two ministers asked for respect for international law and freedom of navigation, and for stronger diplomacy to keep the tensions from spreading.
Abdelatty also met Pekka Haavisto, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, on efforts to de-escalate and end the fighting there. He restated Egypt’s support for Sudan’s unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national institutions, and said any political settlement should be Sudanese-owned while aid reaches civilians. Haavisto said the United Nations would keep coordinating with Egypt.
