Jordan-Egypt Relations: A Cornerstone of Regional Stability

Nov 14, 2025 0

Egypt-Jordan relations refer to the bilateral relations between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Arab Republic of Egypt. Since independence, the two nations have maintained good relations. Both countries are members of the Arab League, GAFTA, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Council of Arab Economic Unity and the United Nations.

The relationship has been quite stable with some uncertainties occurring in the 1960s and 1970s. Afterwards, Egypt and Jordan both came under the control of Nabataeans, Arabia Petraea of the Roman Empire, then Palaestina Salutaris of the Byzantine Empire. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, both Egypt and Jordan became under British rule, with the Sultanate of Egypt and Emirate of Transjordan respectively. During this time, the Palestine Railways had a line connecting the Sinai Peninsula with the East Bank.

Historical Overview

Diplomatic relations between the Egyptian and Jordanian government have existed since Jordan became independent in 1946. A year later, both countries jointly fought against Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Despite some cooperation, Jordan and Egypt remain somewhat distant in their diplomatic positions, as Jordan's position was closer to the Western Bloc, while Egypt under Gamal Nasser had more Ba'athist policies.

On April 6, 1972, the Egyptian government severed relations in protest for a Jordanian plan for federation with the West Bank, which did not take PLO interests into consideration. These relations were restored on September 11, 1973. They were severed again in 1979, this time by the Jordanian government, in protest of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.

Modern Cooperation

In 1989, the Arab Cooperation Council was founded, bringing Egypt and Jordan together and improving their relations. Egypt and Jordan do not share a land border and are separated by the Gulf of Aqaba and the Negev Desert. However, the closest distance between the two countries is only 11 kilometres (6.8 mi), which is between Jordan's Aqaba and Egypt's Taba.

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In 1985, the governments of Egypt, Jordan and Iraq came together and established the Arab Bridge Maritime to facilitate passenger and cargo shipping in the region. This includes a shipping route between the Port of Aqaba in Jordan and the Nuweiba Port in Egypt, which transports about 1 million passengers annually and is a major cargo shipping route for trade.

In March 2025, Jordanian Minister of Labor and the Egyptian ambassador to Jordan met in Amman to discuss joint cooperation regarding labor affairs, in particular about Egyptians working in Jordan.

Cultural and Educational Exchanges

Egypt and Jordan are bound by a common Arab culture and have frequent cultural exchanges, where Egyptian cities host Jordanian cultural events and Jordanian cities host Egyptian cultural events. These exchanges include academic workshops and training programs, and also include specialists in technical assistance from various fields.

The two countries have a strong educational partnership, and universities from both countries offer scholarships to foreign exchange students. Egyptian universities offer 10 free scholarships for medical school and 15 for postgraduate studies, while Jordanian universities offer 100 grants to Egyptian students every year, including 20 from public universities.

Economic Ties

Economic cooperation is the driving force behind the formation, but as in 1989, each of the three has a political incentive to come together. The development of Iraq’s economic relationships with Egypt and Jordan was significantly hindered by its sectarian civil war of the 2000s and the rise of the Islamic State group in the 2010s. But in recent years, the three countries have again taken meaningful steps to rebuild economic ties.

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For Jordan, this is particularly critical following reports of Saudi involvement in a recent conspiracy to destabilize the country and replace King Abdullah with former Crown Prince Hamza. All three countries seek solid ties with GCC states, which suggests the coalition is willing to work next to the Gulf bloc rather than in competition with it.

The macro-financial assistance (MFA) for Egypt was approved by the International Trade Committee by 28 votes in favour, seven against and five abstentions. Given Egypt’s critical economic and financial situation and its role as an important stabilising presence amid geopolitical tensions in an increasingly volatile region, the Commission proposed on 15 March 2024 to support the country with macro-financial assistance of up to €5 billion in loans. These break down into a short-term loan of up to €1 billion - already disbursed at the end of 2024 - and another, regular, operation of up to €4 billion to be disbursed in three instalments.

For Jordan this is the fourth MFA operation since 2013. It should help cover the country’s residual financing needs, support its structural reforms and shore up its fiscal consolidation efforts.

Here is a table summarizing key aspects of the economic relations:

Aspect	Details
Arab Bridge Maritime	Shipping route between Aqaba (Jordan) and Nuweiba (Egypt), transporting ~1 million passengers annually.
Scholarships	Egyptian universities offer scholarships for medical and postgraduate studies; Jordanian universities offer 100 grants to Egyptian students annually.
Energy Projects	Joint energy project linking Iraq’s oilfields in Basra to Aqaba via pipeline, potentially extending to Egypt.

Political and Strategic Alignment

The minister also stressed that the two countries maintain near-identical positions, particularly on the Palestinian cause. “Our stances are closely aligned to the point of near identity.”“We will not allow the extremist Israeli right to undermine the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, nor permit attempts at forced displacement or starvation. Much has been said about President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s recent visit to the Middle East.

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The three countries explicitly seek good ties with the Gulf Corporation Council states. For many years, Jordan has had close ties with the GCC states. Yet its ties with Saudi Arabia have seemingly cooled in recent years.

Challenges and Future Directions

The prospect of Trump forcing through his plans to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza evokes stability concerns in Egypt, according to analysts. For Jordan, those fears are “existential” the analysts said. Already facing legal pushback from the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, both the American and Israeli governments could face allegations of ethnic cleansing if the population of Gaza is removed and not allowed to return.

Maintaining over two million Gazans between both Jordan and Egypt under Trump’s plan would require tens of billions in international aid for refugee camps along with makeshift schools and hospitals, as it would take two decades just to rebuild Gaza. The Arab League, already rejecting the plan, will not help out.

We are supported by a diverse array of funders. Rapporteur Celine Imart (EPP, France), said: “The International Trade Committee’s backing for this EU loan reflects this Parliament’s high regard for Egypt as a partner country. By helping Egypt, we are also looking after EU interests in an unstable region. By endorsing this EU loan for Jordan, the Committee is helping to build our new partnership with the country, one that has recently been announced at the highest level.