Egypt Leads Efforts to Enhance Mediterranean Environmental Cooperation in Brussels

The Egyptian delegation, led by Sherif Abdel Rahim, CEO of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and President of the Barcelona Convention Executive Bureau, along with Dr. Heba Shaarawy, Head of the Central Administration for Coasts, Lakes, and Ports, held a series of high-level meetings with European Commission officials in Brussels.

This initiative aims to strengthen cooperation in marine environmental protection, sustainable development, and addressing climate change impacts in the Mediterranean region. It was conducted under the auspices of Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Environment, as part of Egypt’s presidency of the Barcelona Convention and the Mediterranean Action Plan for the period 2026-2027.

Meetings included discussions with Dubravka Šuica, European Commissioner for Democracy and Demography, Paulina Dejmek Hack, Head of the European Commissioner for Environment’s Office, and Veronika Manfredi, Director at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment. These discussions focused on pollution control, enhancing water resource resilience, and promoting green transitions.

The Egyptian delegation presented outcomes from the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the Barcelona Convention held in Cairo. Key highlights included the Cairo Ministerial Declaration and the Mediterranean Sustainable Development Strategy 2026-2035. This strategy serves as a comprehensive regional framework for achieving sustainable development goals and enhancing environmental cooperation among Mediterranean countries.

Dr. Manal Awad emphasized that Egypt’s current presidency of the Barcelona Convention reflects international confidence in its leadership role in marine environmental protection and sustainable development. She noted it as a significant opportunity to advance regional collaboration in addressing increasing environmental challenges while highlighting efforts to protect marine biodiversity and expand protected marine areas to meet global targets of safeguarding 30% of marine areas by 2030.

Additionally, she addressed combating plastic pollution and supporting a transition toward a sustainable blue economy—a key focus during COP24 held in Cairo in December 2025.

During the meeting, Sherif Abdel Rahim underscored the importance of EU support for implementing the new Mediterranean Sustainable Development Strategy as a primary reference document for regional cooperation against environmental, social, and economic challenges while aiding Mediterranean nations in achieving their 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda goals.

He also highlighted discussions surrounding several critical regional priorities. The Egyptian delegation reviewed national and regional efforts related to climate change adaptation impacts—especially in coastal areas—and stressed enhancing cooperation on nature-based solutions, offshore renewable energy, improving monitoring systems and early warning mechanisms while supporting implementation frameworks for climate adaptation and resilience-building in the Mediterranean from 2026 to 2035.

Abdel Rahim noted that it is essential to enhance collaboration with the Union for the Mediterranean by building on existing partnerships across environmental issues, climate action, blue economy initiatives, and integrated coastal zone management to achieve synergy among various regional initiatives and maximize resource utilization.

These meetings are part of Egypt’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with both the European Union and the Union for the Mediterranean towards achieving sustainable development goals while protecting marine environments and supporting natural resource sustainability in the Mediterranean region. This initiative represents a new tradition stemming from Egypt’s commitment to achieving optimal outcomes for Mediterranean environmental protection during its presidency of the convention.

The meetings concluded with presentations showcasing successful projects funded by the EU currently being implemented in Egypt related to coastal protection, biodiversity conservation, environmental monitoring, updating national action plans with coordination from data exchange centers associated with the Mediterranean Action Plan while also working on specific implementation plans to maximize benefits from these discussions.