The activities of Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aatti during his participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings reflected Egypt's desire to enhance partnership with these countries on various political, economic, and developmental levels, which an Egyptian expert interpreted as "consistent with the policies of diversifying partnerships" pursued by Cairo.

Abdel Aatti stressed the importance of "investing in preventive diplomacy and strengthening multilateral cooperation," and during his participation in the high-level conference of states parties to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN, he called for the need to "continue efforts aimed at reforming the international financing system and increasing investments."

During his participation in the high-level ASEAN meeting held in the Philippine capital Manila, the Egyptian Foreign Minister emphasized that "his country believes that 'preventive diplomacy' is one of the most important tools for maintaining security and stability." He said that "its success requires adopting a comprehensive approach based on supporting national state institutions, promoting economic and social development, building peace, and addressing the root causes of conflicts to prevent their outbreak or recurrence," according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Abdel Aatti believes that the increasing challenges facing the world due to the escalation of crises and conflicts and the intertwining of their dimensions necessitate strengthening joint international action to address the causes of conflicts and reduce their repercussions, which extend to affect international peace and security, economic stability, and development efforts, especially in developing countries.

Egypt's participation in ASEAN meetings comes within the diplomatic approach of the Egyptian government to engage in active regional blocs, alongside developing its relations with Southeast Asian countries, contributing to expanding areas of political, economic, and developmental cooperation, and enhancing coordination and consultation on regional and international issues of common interest, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

ASEAN Conference in the Philippines (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt has an active presence in the ASEAN bloc due to its growing relations with the countries of this bloc, according to former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Ambassador Gamal Bayoumi, who said that "the Egyptian government aims to diversify its economic partnerships east and west, and seeks to develop its exports to ASEAN countries and its investment and industrial cooperation."

In addition to economic cooperation, Bayoumi said in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat that "Cairo counts on enhancing its relations with Southeast Asian countries for coordination and consultation on political and regional issues that top its priorities. He said that these countries constitute an important voice in international forums to support solutions to regional crises, especially the Palestinian cause," noting that "ties with these blocs contribute to advancing collective solutions to regional crises."

According to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Abdel Aatti called for the importance of strengthening multilateral work and supporting the roles of international and regional organizations, starting with the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League, and ASEAN, to enhance the international community's ability to respond to common challenges, and stressed the importance of "reforming the international financing system and increasing investments in development, infrastructure, and services as essential elements to support stability and address the causes of conflicts."

ASEAN Conference in the Philippines (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

ASEAN constitutes the fifth largest economic bloc internationally, according to member of the Egyptian Society for Economics and Legislation, Waleed Gaballa, who said that "the economic visions of this bloc are consistent with Egyptian economic policies, especially regarding enhancing intra-trade, exchanging investments, and achieving economic development in all its elements," noting that "the reform vision of the Egyptian economy is based on diversifying partnerships with international blocs."

Cairo aims to enhance its traditional exports to Southeast Asian countries, especially construction materials, chemicals, and agricultural crops, according to Gaballa, who told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Egyptian government is working to attract investments from these countries, particularly in the fields of electronics, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals," in addition to "benefiting from the industrial technology these countries possess to localize it in the Suez Canal Economic Zone."

On Friday, Abdel Aatti participated in a roundtable with a number of prominent Filipino businessmen and representatives of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the sidelines of his participation in the meeting, and witnessed the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry to enhance cooperation frameworks between the business communities in Egypt and the Philippines.

Egypt's desire to develop relations with the Philippines appeared through the convening of the "tenth round of political consultations" between the two countries, held for the first time at the ministerial level, while Abdel Aatti stressed the importance of establishing an "Egyptian-Philippine Business Council" to be a platform bringing together businessmen from both countries, contributing to enhancing trade, investment, and tourism cooperation, especially in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and fertilizers.

According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Abdel Aatti's visit to the Philippines is the first of its kind by an Egyptian foreign minister in 80 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings on Friday, Abdel Aatti also met with a number of his counterparts from ASEAN countries, including the Foreign Minister of East Timor, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, and the Foreign Minister of Thailand, Sihasak Phuangketkeow.

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