Why Egypt Should Join CERN

Occasionally, I return to the same question, why isn’t Egypt an Associate Member of CERN? Of course, we have the scientific capabilities and the desire to participate more. I understand the challenges that Egypt’s economy faces and the huge investment in education reform that’s needed for the country to reach its full potential.

This isn’t some abstract policy question for me. I work there ¹. I see the gaps firsthand. And I see how other countries sometimes with smaller economies or smaller research communities manage to build solid, long-term bridges with CERN. In 2023, there was a serious discussion about Egypt joining as an Associate Member. But nothing came out of it. Meanwhile, Peru and Ireland, which began their discussions later, have now officially joined as Associate Members. I don’t know what went wrong. But I do know what we’re missing out on.

CERN isn’t just a particle physics lab, it’s a high-tech hub operating at a level of scale, precision, and international collaboration that’s very hard to replicate. It’s one of the few places where engineers, physicists, computer scientists, and technicians work side by side on problems that have both fundamental and real world value.

And yet Egypt despite sending students and researchers here for years remains on the sidelines. Being a non-member state, joining individual experiments here or there, and relying on donations to have your students participate in CERN’s Summer Student Program is not the same as being a Member (or more precisely, an Associate Member). And if we want to truly benefit from what CERN offers, not just in prestige, but in tangible national returns then we need to move beyond symbolic participation.

So what would matter most to people isn’t the science itself, but the impact. So let’s talk about impact.

First, the obvious, joining CERN would grant Egypt access to large-scale scientific infrastructure and formal participation in high-energy physics research. But it’s not just about fundamental science. The real gains are interdisciplinary, AI, control systems, high-performance computing, electronics, materials science, and precision engineering.

Associate Members don’t just attend meetings. They get a seat at the table. Their institutions can sign long-term agreements. Their industries can bid on procurement contracts. Their citizens can apply to staff positions. All of that is currently off-limits to Egypt.

Right now, most Egyptians who make it to CERN do so through personal determination and ad hoc opportunities, internships, collaborations, or PhD positions funded externally. These are fantastic, but they’re not scalable. They’re not sustainable. And they don’t create a stable bridge between institutions in Egypt and CERN. Associate Membership would change that. It would formalize the pathways, open up more fellowships, enable industry to participate, and integrate Egyptian institutions into the fabric of CERN’s long-term planning.

In simple terms, it would turn participation from a lottery into a pipeline.

There’s also a financial dimension worth understanding. Joining CERN as an Associate Member isn’t free. Egypt would be expected to contribute to the CERN budget, estimated at around 3.5 million Swiss francs per year. This figure is not absolute, it’s subject to negotiation and may be adjusted based on national income and bilateral agreements. That might sound like a lot (especially when converted to EGP). But for context, CERN’s budget is over 1.2 billion CHF. The expected contribution from Egypt would represent less than 0.3% of that. And in return, Egypt would gain access to CERN’s procurement system, industrial contracts, tech transfer, training programs, and international recognition as a scientific partner.

So it’s not a donation. It’s an investment with multi-sector returns.

Other countries figured this out. Romania. Pakistan. India. Turkey. Even Ukraine has Associate Member status despite everything it’s going through. What’s stopping Egypt? We’re not lacking in talent. We’re lacking institutional clarity and political will.

There’s also something harder to quantify, symbolic value. When Egyptian students and researchers work at CERN today, they often feel like guests. When your passport limits which jobs you can apply to, or which projects your university can sign, it creates a quiet kind of exclusion. It’s not intentional, it’s structural. But it matters.

Becoming an Associate Member changes the tone. It tells young scientists that their work is not peripheral. That their nationality isn’t a barrier. That their institutions matter.

It’s hard to overstate how important that message is, especially for a country trying to develop a knowledge economy.

Look, I have a personal stake in this. If Egypt became an Associate Member, I would gain access to CERN jobs that are currently closed to me because of my nationality. That’s a real, direct benefit. But honestly, that’s not why I care so much. I’ve spent years working in this place. I’ve seen the good, the transformative, the deeply collaborative. And I’ve also seen how frustrating it is to always feel like you’re almost but not quite included.

Egypt has the minds. It has the universities. It has the ambition. What it needs is alignment. A clear decision to step into the scientific world, not as a guest, but as a contributor.