The NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, Javier Colomina, returned to Cairo for an official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt, from 12 to 15 January 2026.
He met Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, with whom he shared views on a range of topics, including NATO's long-standing partnership with Egypt, which is based on political dialogue, as well as on practical cooperation on specific areas, notably counter-terrorism, demining and maritime security. He also discussed prospects of further strengthening NATO's relations with Egypt, in the wake of ongoing work for the finalisation of NATO-Egypt Individually Tailored Partnership Programme, and other issues of common interest, including regional developments affecting security in the Middle East and the Euro-Atlantic area.
Special Representative Colomina highlighted that "Egypt is a key partner for regional stability."
During his visit, Mr Colomina also met other high level Egyptian officials and delivered a key note address to diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He visited the headquarters of the League of the Arab States and met the Assistant Secretary General and Chief of Staff, Hossam Zaki. They took stock of the substantial development of political dialogue between NATO and the League of Arab States, and shared views on the most recent regional developments.
Finally, Special Representative Colomina visited the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution Peacekeeping and Peacemaking, which is recognised as a NATO Partnership Training and Education Centre. He met the Director, Seif Kandeel, with whom he discussed ways to strengthen NATO's collaboration with the centre, for the benefit of the broader regional security.
