Special Mission to Washington D.C. 2025

June 8-13, 2025

A delegation of senior business leaders and executives representing AmCham Egypt visited Washington, D.C. for the Annual Doorknock Mission, during the period from June 8th till June 13th, 2025.

The objective of this Annual Mission to the U.S. is to deepen the bilateral dialogue between both countries, through shedding light on the current state of the economy, recent reforms adopted by the Egyptian Government, and opportunities that exist in Egypt.

Over the course of five days, delegates took part in almost 50 meetings with Members of the U.S. Congress, the Administration, think-tanks, senior media representatives and leaders from the U.S. business community. These comprised 27 meetings with Members of Congress and their staff, three meetings with the Executive Branch, including meetings with senior officials at the Departments of State, and the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

The delegation also had 12 meetings with senior representatives at Washington’s prominent Think-Tanks and Multinational Financial Institutions, including; the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Congressional Research Center (CRS), Atlantic Council, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Council on Foreign Relations, The Heritage Foundation, America First Policy Institute, The Hudson Institute, Middle East Institute (MEI), among others.

The Mission took place amid significant developments, both on the local and international levels. The Trump Administration has made it clear that they are driving domestic and international policy, in particular defense and foreign policies. Republicans in Congress have supported all Trump initiatives and made sure his priorities are reflected in the budget and legislation, however there have been some bipartisan congressional pushback against the recent global tariff regime recently imposed by the White House, and which impacts Egypt as a trading partner. Regionally, the Gaza conflict continues to shape foreign policy narratives, with Egypt’s strategic role as a stabilizing force continuing to have strong recognition across Washington. The Trump Administration has been focused on Gulf Country Economic Partnerships and engaging Egypt to achieve a permanent political solution to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

During their meetings, delegates promoted dialogue on important commercial issues, as well as shared their perspective on social and political topics of bilateral importance. The impact of external global shocks and the current regional war and geopolitical challenges on Egypt’s economy was a common topic discussed during all meetings.

The delegation emphasized Egypt’s role as a linchpin of regional stability, noting the critical impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Egypt’s economy, its borders and highlighted its humanitarian efforts in Gaza and Sudan. Delegates called for American consideration of Egypt’s substantial economic burdens, including over 10.5 million refugees and losses from disrupted Suez Canal traffic due to regional hostilities.

On the economic level, the delegation highlighted recent reforms undertaken by the Egyptian government to boost its economy and attract U.S. and foreign investments, including a full float of the Egyptian pound. The delegation highlighted the reduction in public investment and the rising private sector contribution to the economy, as well as the increased foreign exchange reserves and decelerating inflation is down to 13.6% year-on-year.

The AmCham delegation also emphasized that the bilateral trade relations remain robust, with total trade hitting $8.6 billion in 2024—a 25% year-on-year increase, and with Egypt being the top recipient of U.S. investment in Africa and a hub for over 2,000 American businesses.

The recent forums, the Joint Economic Commission, and the U.S. Egypt Policy Leaders Forum organized by AmCham Egypt, jointly with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in late May, and which was led by U.S. Chamber President and CEO, Suzanne Clark, and with the participation of more than 75 executives, representing 55 U.S. companies, underscore a mutual commitment to deepening economic ties. It was also noted that Egypt is finalizing a bilateral customs agreement with the U.S. and has introduced several trade facilitation reforms, including deregulating standards for American imports.

Discussions with the United States Trade Representative office highlighted that the recent 10% reciprocal tariff imposed on Egypt, may present short to medium term opportunity to capture market share previously held by Asian exporters to the U.S. by attracting manufacturing relocations, given Egypt’s strategic location and its existing trade agreements.  This opportunity will be further enhanced as Egypt implements investment policy reforms and offers appropriate incentives for manufacturing relocation.

While IMF officials recognized the success of the Egyptian government in restoring the foreign exchange market, and managing inflation, economic growth is seeing a cyclical recovery that has not stabilized yet. There was consensus that Egypt needs to adopt a more aggressive mechanism for the privatization of State-owned Enterprises (SOEs), reducing the role of government in the economy; creating a better investment climate; empowering the private sector, ensuring a level playing field; and creating conditions for sustained macro-economic stability.

Senior officials at the State Department recognized Egypt’s efforts to address several challenges facing U.S. investors in the last few months, particularly relating to the forex market, the ‘Halal Certification’, and the partial clearing of pending arrears, however it was discussed that several other challenges are yet to be addressed. The issue of the Ethiopia Dam (GERD) was brought up in several meetings, and different stakeholders expressed strong interest in continuing to work on this issue, to the benefit of all parties involved, particularly in light of the support given by the first Trump Administration to this issue.

The potential for U.S. companies operating in Egypt’s Oil and Gas sector, as well as the country’s potential in mining were highlighted during several meetings, and particularly with the State Department’s Energy Bureau. Priorities outlined by officials during that meeting included; energy security, increasing oil and gas exports, increasing mid-stream processing of critical minerals in the United States, and dealing with the China competition. It was discussed that energy will continue being a top priority of U.S. foreign policy. The need for mapping of critical minerals in Egypt and elsewhere was discussed, and technical assistance for digitizing the mapping of mineral reserves.

Several events were held on the margins of the visit, including:

• A Special Breakfast Briefing was hosted on June 9th with Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, Moataz Zahran.
• A Limited Dinner for the AmCham Egypt Inc. Advisory Board and the AmCham Egypt Delegation was hosted on June 12th.

Overall, the delegation left Washington with a sense of assurance that Egypt has strong support on the highest levels. The delegation noted that Congress, the Executive Branch and the think tank community, continue to perceive Egypt as a strategic partner for advancing peace in the Middle East, an independent and credible voice with which they can have an honest and open dialogue. AmCham Egypt’s U.S. affiliate – AmCham Egypt, Inc. - will be maintaining regular dialogue with stakeholders in Washington, as well as ensuring the Egypt economic developments are adequately communicated.