Received: 2025-06-11  |  Accepted: 2025-08-17  |  Published: 2025-09-30

Title

The circular blue economy in Egypt: opportunities for regional cooperation and integration with Mediterranean countries for sustainable development


Abstract

This study examines the possibility of the Circular Blue Economy in Egypt to support sustainable development and the usage of its renewable resources, focusing on possibilities for regional collaboration, particularly in the Mediterranean region. The study's methodology was an analysis of missing policies, identifying key actors, and an expert survey to identify future collaborations and opportunities, which included 20 experts from diverse sectors. Current policies in Egypt (e.g., Egypt Vision 2030) and the Mediterranean region were analyzed against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 14) and regional initiatives such as BLUEMED and SwitchMed, highlighting shortcomings in cooperation, investment, and environmental measures. The main parties, including the Egyptian government, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the private sector, and local communities, were grouped according to their level of interest and influence. Findings indicate that Egypt's strategic location and extensive coastline are suited to drive regional efforts in maritime tourism, aquaculture, and maritime transport. Yet, problems, including marine litter and underfunding, continue. Experts also support the creation of regional cooperation platforms and joint pollution monitoring systems. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to integrate circular economy concepts into government strategies, strengthen collaboration across the region, and establish a collaborative and innovation-based ocean governance model. The paper presents new ideas to support regional integration and suggests additional studies on sustainable financing mechanisms.


Keywords

circular blue economy, Egypt, Mediterranean, sustainable development, regional cooperation, policy gap analysis


JEL classifications

O10 , O55


URI

http://jssidoi.org/ird/article/209


DOI


Pages

104-122


Funding


This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Authors

Piccinetti, Leonardo
Sustainabile Innovation Technology Services Ltd, Limerick, Ireland https://sinnovations.org
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Kapiel, Tarek Y. S.
Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt https://cu.edu.eg
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Salem, Nahed
Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Cairo, Egypt http://www.asrt.sci.eg
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Omoruyi, Trevor Uyi
University of Chester, Chester, United Kingdom https://www.chester.ac.uk
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Massa Gallucci, Alexia
Blue EcoTech Ltd., Malta, Italy
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Elseify, Maghraby Khalil
Sustainabile Innovation Technology Services Ltd, Limerick, Ireland https://sinnovations.org
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El-Bary, Alaa A.
Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria, Egypt https://aast.edu
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Rezk, Mohamed Ramadan A.
Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Cairo, Egypt http://www.asrt.sci.eg
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Journal title

Insights into Regional Development

Volume

7


Number

3


Issue date

September 2025


Issue DOI


ISSN

ISSN 2345-0282 (online)


Publisher

VšĮ Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited

Google Scholar

Article views & downloads

HTML views: 965  |  PDF downloads: 355

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