Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held a series of meetings with government and parliamentary officials in Thailand on Monday at the start of a visit to Bangkok aimed at strengthening political, economic, investment and educational cooperation between the two countries.
Abdelatty met Thai Industry Minister Varawut Silpa-archa to discuss ways to expand trade and investment and strengthen industrial cooperation, including potential joint manufacturing projects in rubber, petrochemicals and tyres.
He said Egypt sought to benefit from Thailand’s experience in industrial localisation, innovation, digital transformation and sustainability while boosting domestic production and industrial exports.
Abdelatty also highlighted investment opportunities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), citing HI TECH as the first Thai industrial project in the zone. He called for leveraging the project’s presence to attract further Thai investment to Egypt.
Thailand’s industry minister expressed interest in expanding cooperation within the economic zone and exploring new manufacturing and investment opportunities in Egypt.
In a separate meeting, Abdelatty met Sophon Saram, President of Thailand’s House of Representatives and National Assembly, to discuss bilateral relations, parliamentary cooperation and ways to expand economic and investment ties.
Abdelatty said bilateral relations had gained momentum in 2026, citing the eighth round of political consultations held in Cairo and reciprocal parliamentary visits. He called for developing a practical roadmap to advance political, economic and development cooperation between the two countries.
He invited the Thai parliamentary speaker to visit Egypt and discussed strengthening educational and cultural ties, including partnerships between Egyptian and Thai universities, scholarship programmes and Al-Azhar’s role in educating Thai students.
Abdelatty also called for increased Thai investment in Egypt and improved access for Egyptian agricultural products to the Thai market.
He later met Yoonadi Waba, chairman of the Thai-Egyptian Parliamentary Friendship Group, and other group members to discuss expanding parliamentary exchanges, establishing direct contacts between specialised committees and maintaining regular dialogue with Egypt’s House of Representatives and Senate.
The talks also covered vocational training, expanding scholarship exchanges and ways for parliamentarians to encourage closer ties between the two countries’ business communities.
In another meeting, Abdelatty held talks with Nirat Yoopakdee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, on parliamentary and economic cooperation, as well as regional and international developments.
Abdelatty called for activating the joint trade committee agreed upon in December 2024, stressing that Egypt could serve as a gateway for Thai companies seeking access to African and European markets, while Thailand could offer Egyptian products and investors greater access to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets.
He also welcomed Thailand’s efforts to deepen its engagement with Africa and affirmed Egypt’s readiness to support stronger Thai-African economic and development cooperation.
The two sides exchanged views on developments in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East and agreed to continue consultations on issues of mutual interest.