Arab Finance: Egypt has become the first country outside Europe to achieve technical alignment with the European Union (EU) on electronic signatures and seals, marking a milestone in digital cooperation between the two sides, as per an emailed press release.
The achievement follows a successful technical assessment of Egypt's Trusted List for Electronic Signatures and Seal Schemes under the EU's Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services (eIDAS) Regulation.
A reference to Egypt's Trusted List will be added to the EU Third Countries Advanced Electronic Signature (AdES) List of Trusted Lists (LOTL), allowing EU member states to validate electronic signatures and seals issued in Egypt.
The move, a key outcome of the EU-Egypt Summit held on October 22, 2025, is expected to facilitate cross-border digital transactions and the exchange of trusted electronic documents.
In a related development, Egypt and the EU signed an Administrative Arrangement on cooperation in electronic signatures and seals to establish a framework for continued cooperation and information exchange.
Witnessed by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hindy via video conference, the agreement was signed by Ahmed Elzaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), in its capacity as Egypt's national supervisory authority for digital trust services, and Roberto Viola, Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology at the European Commission.
The arrangement reflects the fruitful cooperation between Egypt and the EU in digital trust services, Hindy said, adding that it strengthens the reliability of digital transactions and supports the wider use of electronic signatures and seals in commercial and administrative activities.
The minister noted that the cooperation creates broader opportunities for companies and institutions in both countries by making cross-border transactions easier and more efficient, reducing reliance on paper-based procedures and supporting digital integration and e-commerce between Egypt and the EU.
