MP Mohamed Abou El-Enein, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, delivered a wide-ranging speech before the 10th Summit of Speakers of Parliaments of the Union for the Mediterranean, held on Saturday, 4 July 2026, at the headquarters of Egypt’s House of Representatives in the New Capital.
The summit brought together heads of parliaments, deputy speakers, parliamentary delegations, ambassadors, representatives of regional and international organisations, and senior European and Mediterranean figures.
At the beginning of his speech, Abou El-Enein welcomed the participants to Egypt, describing it as the land of civilisation and history. He also welcomed them to the New Administrative Capital, which he said reflects Egypt’s vision for building a modern state moving confidently towards the future.
Abou El-Enein extended his greetings to Counsellor Hesham Badawi, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Dubravka Suica, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean; Romano Prodi, former President of the European Commission; Pina Picierno, Vice-President of the European Parliament; Abdelmadjid Fassi, Vice-President of the Moroccan House of Representatives; Isaura Leal, Second Secretary of the Spanish Congress of Deputies; Abdelhak Azzouzi, President of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations; as well as ambassadors and representatives of regional and international organisations.
He said the summit coincides with a national occasion of special importance for Egypt, namely the opening of the Strategic Command Headquarters of the Egyptian state. He said this achievement adds to the process of building the New Republic and reflects Egypt’s belief that building nations begins with building their institutions, strengthening their ability to protect national security, safeguarding their resources and advancing development and modernisation at the same time.
Abou El-Enein said the summit is being held at a decisive moment, as the world faces unprecedented transformations reshaping political, economic and technological balances.
He stressed that strengthening cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean is no longer merely a political option, but a strategic necessity imposed by the nature of shared challenges. These challenges, he said, range from security and energy to migration, and from climate change to artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
Abou El-Enein said he had been honoured to preside over the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean since June 2025, during a period marked by unprecedented challenges.
He said Egypt’s presidency of the assembly was keen to make it an active platform for dialogue and a partner in supporting stability, strengthening economic integration, and empowering youth and women.
In this context, he recalled that Cairo hosted last November the Summit of Speakers of Parliaments and the Economic Forum to mark the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration.
He said those meetings renewed commitment to the declaration’s vision and welcomed the new Pact for the Mediterranean, which was prepared on the basis of joint ownership through a broad consultative process that included all parties in the southern and northern Mediterranean.
Abou El-Enein praised Dubravka Suica, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, for her major efforts in preparing the pact and for her continued work to implement it.
He said the pact represents a real opportunity to turn challenges into opportunities, as it does not merely present broad objectives but offers a practical framework that includes more than 100 projects and initiatives. These initiatives, he said, support economic growth, encourage innovation, open wider prospects for investment and strengthen regional integration.
Abou El-Enein stressed that the responsibility of parliamentarians is not limited to supporting the pact. Rather, he said, it extends to providing the necessary legislative environment to turn it into tangible results that citizens can feel, investors can trust and societies and economies can benefit from.
He said Egypt’s presidency had actively participated over the past year in meetings of the Union for the Mediterranean, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the African Union, the Three Seas Initiative, the United Nations General Assembly, and the International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
He said this participation was aimed at presenting the Parliamentary Assembly as an essential partner in peacemaking and in strengthening cooperation.
Abou El-Enein added that the assembly had engaged with regional and international developments by issuing political statements expressing its firm commitment to de-escalation, international law and the peaceful settlement of disputes, which he described as indispensable foundations for achieving security and stability.
He said that three decades after the Barcelona Declaration, today’s world is radically different from the world of the past. For this reason, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership must keep pace with these transformations through a more ambitious and effective vision.
Abou El-Enein said this vision must move from traditional cooperation to genuine integration, and from limited exchanges of interests to building a shared future based on sustainable development and mutual dependence.
He said the next stage requires partnerships based on investment, joint production, knowledge transfer, localisation of technology, the building of regional value chains, and increased investment in renewable energy, artificial intelligence, the blue economy, smart agriculture, digital infrastructure, transport corridors and logistics links.
He said such an approach could make the Mediterranean region one of the most important centres of growth and innovation in the global economy.
Abou El-Enein stressed that the region possesses all the elements needed to achieve this vision. However, he said turning these capabilities into concrete projects requires mobilising public and private investment and establishing a genuine partnership between governments, parliaments, the private sector, and international and regional financial institutions.
He said the countries of the Mediterranean must move quickly, learn the lessons of the past and benefit from the most advanced experiences of regional integration.
He warned that global competition does not wait, adding that the regions investing today in knowledge, innovation and integration will be the ones that lead the economy of tomorrow. Any vacuum left by the Mediterranean region, he said, will be filled by others.
Turning to regional peace and security, Abou El-Enein stressed that development cannot flourish without peace. He said experience has shown that wars do not create lasting security.
He said the Palestinian cause remains the core of the conflict in the Middle East. He added that it is impossible to build a shared Mediterranean future while millions of Palestinians live under war, occupation and despair.
Abou El-Enein said there can be no prosperity in the Mediterranean without justice, no security without hope and no peace without an independent Palestinian state.
He said Egypt, under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and in cooperation with its partners, had played a responsible and central role in reaching an agreement to end the war in Gaza.
He noted that Egypt hosted the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit last October with the participation of more than 30 heads of state.
However, he said that more than eight months after the agreement entered into force, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains tragic. He said daily bombardment continues to kill women and children, illegal settlement expansion continues, settler violence is escalating in the occupied West Bank, and the situation has reached the point of issuing what he described as a racist law allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners.
Abou El-Enein said these practices will not achieve security and will only destroy trust and undermine the chances of peace.
He said the recent war in Gaza, together with the wars that accompanied and followed it, proved a fact that cannot be ignored: the absence of a just solution to the Palestinian cause is the root cause of conflicts in the region.
He warned that the continuation of this situation does not threaten Palestinians alone, but also threatens the security of the Middle East, the stability of the Mediterranean, international peace and the global economy.
For this reason, he said, the international community must not be satisfied with managing the crisis, but must address its root cause, which he identified as the Israeli occupation of Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territories since 1967.
Abou El-Enein renewed his call for the full implementation of the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement, ensuring the safe and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid, the immediate start of Gaza reconstruction, full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, and the launch of a serious political process based on international legitimacy and the principle of the two-state solution.
He said this political process must lead to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the borders of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in security and peace alongside Israel.
He also reaffirmed his categorical rejection of any attempts to displace the Palestinian people or liquidate their cause. He stressed that respect for international law and international humanitarian law is not an option, but an obligation borne by the entire international community.
Addressing the wider regional situation, Abou El-Enein said the recent war in Iran confirmed that any military escalation carries risks that go beyond the parties directly involved, with serious consequences for regional security and the global economy.
He welcomed the memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran and underlined the importance of protecting freedom of navigation in international maritime routes.
He also called for accelerating the implementation of the Barcelona Declaration’s call for the Middle East to be free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, in a way that ensures a comprehensive and non-selective solution to the problem of nuclear proliferation in the region.
On Lebanon, Abou El-Enein stressed the need for full respect for the ceasefire and for Israel to withdraw from all Lebanese territories, enabling the Lebanese army to extend state authority over the whole country and implement the government’s decision to place all weapons under the control of the state alone.
On Syria, he called on Israel to respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to withdraw from occupied Syrian territories.
On Libya, Abou El-Enein renewed full support for Libya’s unity and sovereignty. He stressed commitment to a Libyan-Libyan political solution, the unification of institutions, the simultaneous holding of presidential and parliamentary elections, and the withdrawal of all foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libyan territory.
He praised the central role played by Egypt, together with neighbouring countries, in supporting Libya’s unity and preserving its national institutions.
Abou El-Enein also valued the historic position announced by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in 2020, when he said that Sirte and Al-Jufra represented a red line for Egyptian national security. Abou El-Enein said this position marked a turning point that helped stop the fighting, created the conditions for resuming the political process and spared Libya the dangers of sliding into chaos and division.
On Sudan, he stressed that the country’s stability requires an immediate ceasefire and the preservation of the unity of the state and its institutions.
On the Horn of Africa, Abou El-Enein stressed the need to preserve Somalia’s unity. He rejected any recognition of what is known as Somaliland, saying such a step would threaten regional security and create an environment that could allow terrorism to expand.
On water security, Abou El-Enein said Egypt’s water security is an existential issue that cannot be subject to compromise. He rejected unilateral measures in the Nile Basin and called for adherence to the rules of international law governing the management of transboundary water resources, foremost among them the principles of no harm and prior notification.
He said this is the only path to achieving common interests and ensuring security and development for all peoples of the Nile Basin.
Abou El-Enein said Egypt has chosen throughout its history to be a force supporting peace, a bridge for dialogue and a trusted partner in building regional and international stability.
He said that, thanks to its political stability, economic reform, unprecedented infrastructure development, strategic location and wide network of regional and international partnerships, Egypt continues to play its role as a link between Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and as a regional hub for trade, energy, logistics services and investment.
He said Egypt values its strategic and comprehensive partnership with the European Union and looks forward to building on the cooperation already achieved, strengthening mutual investments and accelerating the implementation of joint projects in a way that serves mutual interests and promotes stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region.
As he concluded Egypt’s presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, Abou El-Enein extended sincere thanks to the members of the current Bureau, including the European Parliament, the Spanish Parliament and the Moroccan House of Representatives.
He also thanked the heads and members of committees, all member parliaments and the Secretary-General for their sincere cooperation and responsible spirit, which he said contributed to strengthening the role of the assembly over the past year.
Abou El-Enein also thanked the Anna Lindh Foundation for its role in building bridges among young people and promoting dialogue and mutual respect between cultures.
He congratulated the European Parliament on assuming the presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly, expressing confidence that its presidency would give new momentum to the assembly’s role as a unique platform for parliamentary dialogue in the Mediterranean.
Abou El-Enein concluded by saying that the history of the Mediterranean has taught that civilisations flourished only when cooperation triumphed over conflict, dialogue over division and openness over isolation.
He said there is now a responsibility to preserve this legacy and work together so that the Mediterranean becomes not a border separating its peoples, but a bridge uniting them, a driver of their prosperity and a model of the cooperation the world needs today.
He ended by saying that the future of the Mediterranean is the future of all its peoples.
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