On 6 February 2026, Mr. Josep Santacreu, President of ASCAME and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, made an institutional visit to Alexandria (Egypt), during which he held several working meetings with representatives of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of the visit was to coordinate the priorities of his new presidency at the head of ASCAME, strengthen institutional relations with Egypt, and promote investment by Spanish and Catalan companies in the region.

During his stay, Mr. Santacreu met with Mr. Ahmed El Wakil, Vice President and Honorary President of ASCAME, and President of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce and the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Commerce, whom he recently succeeded as ASCAME President. The meeting underscored the continuity and reinforcement of cooperation between the two institutions.

The visit also served to advance preparations for the first ASCAME Executive Committee meeting under Santacreu’s presidency. On this occasion, ASCAME President will present the organization’s strategic lines for the next two years. Coinciding with these dates, Cairo will host the MedaWeek summit on 20–21 April under the title “The Summit of Economic Leaders of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa”. The event will bring together leading representatives of the Euro‑Mediterranean and African business ecosystem, following the successful Euro‑Mediterranean Forum held in Barcelona last November. The Cairo summit will be co‑organized by the World Chambers Federation (ICC), the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Professions (UACCIAP), the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development, the Union of Arab Chambers, the Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations (CEEBA), the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), and ASCAME.

As part of his new presidency, Mr. Santacreu has initiated a round of contacts with the presidents of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce with the aim of promoting an inclusive action plan agreed upon with ASCAME’s main partners and members. This plan aims to bring together the priorities and aspirations of both sides of the Mediterranean, establishing specific, realistic, and results-oriented objectives.

The development of the new Mediterranean Pact, approved by the European Commission in 2025 and presented by DG MENA at the Euro-Mediterranean Forum 2025 in Barcelona, will be one of the strategic priorities of the presidency, given Brussels’s importance for the Euro-Mediterranean region and the private sector. The renewed European policy seeks to boost economic and trade relations, an area in which Chambers of Commerce can play a key role in both the design and implementation of these initiatives.

Egypt continues to be a destination of great interest to Spanish and Catalan companies, thanks to its political stability and sustained economic growth in recent years. Both Alexandria and Barcelona, historic Mediterranean cities, have played and continue to play a fundamental role in Mediterranean trade and economic relations with the African continent.