Egypt and the DRC Are Deepening Ties. What Each Country Needs From the Other Explains Why.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received DRC President Félix Tshisekedi at the presidential palace in Cairo on June 10, 2026, in what the Egyptian presidency described as a landmark meeting reflecting the depth and distinction of Egyptian-Congolese relations. The visit, Tshisekedi's fourth to Egypt in recent years, included bilateral talks, an expanded session attended by both countries' delegations, a luncheon hosted by El-Sisi, and the signing of multiple agreements and memoranda of understanding. The two presidents also held a joint press conference, at which El-Sisi delivered an official speech.

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The substance of the meeting covered trade, investment, energy, infrastructure, and the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC. El-Sisi emphasized the need to convene the Joint Committee between the two countries and to establish implementation mechanisms that can monitor progress across areas of bilateral cooperation. He highlighted the capabilities of Egyptian companies in energy and infrastructure, and expressed Egypt's readiness to support the DRC in both sectors. El-Sisi also reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the DRC, and described Egypt's engagement in supporting the Washington and Doha peace agreements on eastern Congo as constructive and ongoing.

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The incentive structures driving this relationship are distinct but complementary. Egypt under El-Sisi has pursued a deliberate policy of deepening bilateral ties with sub-Saharan African states, driven partly by the Nile Basin politics that have become central to Egypt's national security calculation following Ethiopia's construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Building durable relationships with Nile Basin and Central African countries serves Egyptian interests by creating political capital that can be deployed in multilateral water negotiations. The DRC is itself a Nile Basin state and a member of the Nile Basin Initiative, giving its position on Nile governance matters directly to Egypt's water security.

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For the DRC, Egypt offers something the Congolese state needs urgently in its eastern provinces: credible external partnerships for infrastructure and energy development in a territory where decades of conflict have prevented investment. Egyptian construction and infrastructure companies have a regional presence and a track record of operating in complex environments. The DRC's energy sector, despite the country holding an estimated 13 percent of the world's hydropower potential, largely underdeveloped, represents an opportunity that Egyptian technical expertise and investment could contribute to if the political and security conditions in the east can be stabilized. Egypt's stated commitment to the Washington and Doha peace processes is therefore not merely diplomatic. It is a precondition for the commercial relationships El-Sisi discussed.

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What is not being explicitly stated in official readouts is the degree to which both countries' engagement with the eastern Congo conflict is shaped by regional calculations that do not always align with international peace frameworks. Egypt's support for DRC sovereignty is consistent but is also part of a broader Egyptian positioning against Rwandan and Ugandan influence in the DRC, given historical tensions between Egypt and upstream Nile countries. The Washington and Doha agreements have not yet produced the ceasefire or political settlement that would allow eastern Congo to stabilize, and the M23 forces documented in a separate Human Rights Watch report as having committed systematic abuses remain active in the territory.

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The Nile Basin discussion at the bilateral meeting, at which Tshisekedi praised Egypt's consensus-oriented approach and expressed DRC's commitment to coordination with Egypt on transboundary water issues, underlines the multi-layered nature of the relationship. The DRC's cooperation on Nile governance is a resource Egypt values independent of trade or infrastructure cooperation. For Tshisekedi, alignment with Egypt provides a diplomatic ally in continental forums at a moment when the DRC is seeking support for its position on eastern Congo from as wide a coalition as possible.