The European Union announces an $8 billion aid package for Egypt as concerns mount over migration

CAIRO — The European Union on Sunday announced a 7.4 billion-euro ($8 billion) aid package for cash-strapped Egypt as concerns mount that economic pressure and conflicts in neighboring countries could drive more migrants to European shores.

The deal, which drew criticism from rights groups over Egypt’s human rights record, was signed Sunday afternoon in Cairo by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The ceremony was attended by leaders of Belgium, Italy, Austria, Cyprus and Greece.

“Your visit today represented a very important milestone in the relations between Egypt and the European Union,” el-Sissi told visiting European leaders. He said the deal has achieved a “paradigm shift in our partnership.”

The aid package includes both grants and loans over the next three years for the Arab world’s most populous country, according to the EU’s mission in Cairo. Most of the funds — 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) — are macro-financial assistance, according to a document from the EU mission in Egypt.

The mission said the two sides have promoted their cooperation to the level of a “strategic and comprehensive partnership,” paving the way for expanding Egypt-EU cooperation in various economic and noneconomic areas.

“The European Union recognizes Egypt as a reliable partner and its unique and vital geostrategic role as a pillar of security, moderation and peace in the Mediterranean, Near East and African region,” a joint statement said after the summit.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose country played a major role in achieving the deal, lauded it as “historic.”

“This initiative shows our willingness to strengthen and encourage a new structural method of cooperation between the two sides of the Mediterranean,” she told the Egyptian-EU summit in Cairo.

The deal, known as the Joint Declaration, aims among other things to promote “democracy, fundamental freedoms, human rights, and gender equality,” according to the European Commission. Both sides will also deepen their cooperation to address challenges related to migration and terrorism.

The EU will provide assistance to Egypt’s government to fortify its borders, especially with Libya, a major transit point for migrants fleeing poverty and conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

The 27-nation bloc will also support the government in hosting Sudanese who have fled nearly a year of fighting between rival generals in their country. Egypt received more than 460,000 Sudanese since April last year.

The deal comes amid growing concerns that Israel’s looming ground offensive on Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah could force hundreds of thousands of people to break into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The Israel-Hamas war, now in its sixth month, has pushed more than 1 million people to Rafah.

Egypt says there are 9 million migrants in the country, including about 480,000 who are registered refugees and asylum-seekers with the U.N. refugee agency.

Many of those migrants have established their own businesses, while others work in the huge informal economy as street vendors and house cleaners.