Egypt and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement to facilitate the cross-border verification of electronic signatures and seals.
The administrative arrangements are intended to make the two sides’ digital trust systems compatible and simplify commercial and government transactions. They cover electronic signatures and seals that do not have qualified status under EU rules, a statement by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said.
The agreement was signed by Ahmed El Zaher, head of Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), and Roberto Viola, director-general for communications networks, content and technology at the European Commission.
Minister Raafat Hendy attended the ceremony by video link.
EU Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst said Egypt had become the first country outside Europe to join the EU’s advanced electronic signatures trust list.
Under the arrangements, the European Commission will include a reference to Egypt’s list of trust service providers in an EU list for non-member countries, facilitating verification of Egyptian electronic signatures and seals in the bloc.
ITIDA will in turn include a reference to the EU’s list in Egypt’s national trust lists, making it easier to verify EU-issued signatures and seals in Egypt.
Egyptian ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid described the agreement as a key outcome of the Egypt-EU summit held in Brussels in October 2025.
