Egypt has substantial marine and coastal assets, and maritime activities make important contributions to Egyptian economy and society. Commercially, maritime traffic and offshore hydrocarbon activities are the main activities in the Egyptian part of the Mediterranean basin, but a wide range of activities are important:

• Maritime transport: The existence of the Suez Canal makes Egypt strategically and commercially important for the maritime transport sector. At sea, shipping lines across Egyptian waters and the Suez Canal carry substantial maritime traffic, including a quarter of globally transported oil.
• Ports: The most important ports are Alexandria which is the biggest port in Egypt, Dekheila Port which is a natural extension to Alexandria, and DAMIETTA PORT which has the largest container terminal in Egypt. Port Said is at the Mediterranean end of the Suez Canal.
• Oil and gas: crude oil and natural gas production in Egyptian Mediterranean coastal zones is increasing every year and new ports and terminals are being constructed with facilities for a variety of agricultural, industrial and fuel products.
• Fishing: commercial fishing in Mediterranean coastal waters is an important activity in many coastal communities, and Egypt is one of the Mediterranean’s largest producers of marine capture fisheries.
• Marine and coastal cultural heritage: Its geographic position and its ancient historical assets means that Egypt has important and valuable under water cultural heritage. Much work has been done to make an inventory of this cultural heritage, while it is acknowledged there is much work that remains to be done.
• Tourism: tourism is important in the Egyptian Mediterranean region, although it is secondary to the Red Sea resorts.

There are many coastal and maritime threats and risks: biodiversity, water quality, climate change and coastal risks, urban sprawl, pollution by industry, illegal fishing, looting of cultural assets.

Egypt has not yet developed a holistic or integrated maritime policy, although in recent years it has been active in developing ICZM.

No national dedicated maritime governance structure exists at the Government level to support the development of a national integrated maritime policy, and there are no governance setups (national forum, national maritime council, etc.) to allow maritime stakeholders to participate at decision or at implementation level.

Most traditional maritime activities are based on explicit and well‐defined sectoral strategies supported by dedicated sectoral administrations and generally complete legislative frameworks, although some laws could benefit from updating and the regulatory framework can be complex with several entities involved.

Egypt ratified UNCLOOS in 1983. It has declared a 12 mile territorial zone, a 24 mile contiguous zone and an EEZ. In 1990 it declared the baselines of the maritime area. In March 2003 it signed a delimitation agreement with Cyprus with respect to their respective Exclusive Economic Zones. Other borders remain unresolved. These include: Libya (territorial sea and fishing zone/EEZ); Greece (continental shelf); Israel‐Gaza (territorial sea and continental shelf).

Maritime assets are very important in Egypt, and the country has the maritime potential (maritime space and marine resources, strategic position) to become a major stakeholder in many maritime sectors.