Cairo hosts the 19th Arab Steel Summit as Egypt pushes a more competitive Arab steel industry

What Egypt’s leaders said at the opening

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly described iron and steel as a strategic industry for infrastructure, construction and engineering, and for creating jobs, noting that steel production in Arab countries reached about 45 million tonnes in 2025. He also disclosed that Egypt is studying the creation of a specialised unit for the iron and steel industry inside the Ministry of Industry, to improve coordination between government and companies and to ground industrial decisions in economic and technical studies — while making clear that no timetable or organisational details for the unit were announced, and that the idea remains under study. Industry Minister Khaled Hashem, who took part in the opening alongside AISU chairman Ahmed Ezz, said Egypt gives high priority to developing its iron and steel industry and improving its competitiveness, calling the sector a key pillar of an integrated industrial base and sustainable economic growth.

Why protectionism dominated the agenda

The summit’s theme — global steel trade disruptions and the challenges facing Arab producers in domestic and export markets — ran through the opening sessions. AISU chairman Ahmed Ezz warned of growing protectionist pressures on Arab producers and called for stronger regional cooperation and greater integration of Arab steel markets. In a dedicated trade session, participants pointed to excess capacity, dumping and subsidies, particularly in relation to China, as factors squeezing Arab producers. Figures cited in that discussion put the rise in Egyptian steel billet imports at 1,213% between 2021 and 2024, with hot-rolled coil imports up 116% over the same period. Yomna El-Shabrawy of Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade set out how the authorities assess domestic industry complaints and run trade remedy investigations — the process behind any protective measures.

What else is on the table, and what happens alongside

Beyond trade, the agenda covers supply-chain disruption, digital technologies for efficiency, the green transition and lower carbon emissions, and financing for sustainable industrial development. An international iron and steel exhibition runs alongside the summit, with wide participation from Arab companies and institutions showcasing new technologies, products and industrial solutions. For Cairo, the gathering is also a statement of intent: Egypt is positioning itself as a regional steel production hub, and the summit’s message from its hosts is that Arab producers will need closer research cooperation and industrial integration — not just defensive trade measures — to compete in a market being reshaped by shifting trade patterns and by challenges over energy and production inputs.