Harvesting Success: the Netherlands and Egypt Strengthen Agricultural Partnership at Landmark Summit

Adham mohamed1 week ago

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Today, the Netherlands hosted the Netherlands-Egypt Agricultural Partnership Summit in Cairo, marking an important step forward in agriculture collaboration between the two countries. The summit was held in honor of the visit of Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, who was accompanied by a trade delegation of 22 Dutch companies.

This summit reflects renewed momentum in strengthening bilateral trade, investment, and knowledge exchange in the agriculture sector. The program continues on the 6th of May with field visits and sector-focused engagements.

During the opening ceremony, Minister Sjoerdsma and Alaa Farouk, Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, reaffirmed the strong and longstanding ties between the Netherlands and Egypt, and their shared commitment to advancing sustainable agricultural development.

The summit, held under the theme “Harvesting Success”, attracted significant interest, bringing more than 800 Egyptian companies, knowledge institutes, policy makers, and other stakeholders, including several Members of Parliament.

A key highlight of the event was the signing of multiple MoU’s and agreements. Both ministers witnessed the signing of a Shared Agenda, through which the Netherlands and Egypt recognize their mutual interest in advancing Climate and Water Smart Agriculture in Egypt, enhancing trade and investment, and strengthening knowledge collaboration.

“It is encouraging to see strong mutual interest at governmental, business and knowledge levels, said Tycho Vermeulen, Agricultural Counsellor at the Netherlands Embassy in Egypt. He continued: “ The High level of participation from both countries underscores the importance of further strengthening our partnership.”

The summit showcased the breadth of The Netherlands-Egypt cooperation in agriculture through an extensive program, including 12 parallel sessions, two high level meetings, a round table discussion and an evening seminar, The Netherlands presented its integrated approach to fostering a conducive business environment, promoting smart-innovation, advancing public-private partnerships and supporting policy dialogue.

The Netherlands’ trade delegation will continue its visit in Egypt with field trips focused on citrus cultivation, greenhouse horticulture, post-harvest technology and supply-chain-management.