It was signed by the governments of Egypt, the United States of America, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain (the Republican side in the civil war), France, Greece, Italy, Ethiopia, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden.

[1] The capitulations system was introduced into Egypt in the 19th century as a result of pressure by foreign powers by the Egyptian people.

After the First World War, a wave of nationalism was on the rise in Egypt, and the government, backed by the newly-established Wafd Party, put growing demands before the British government, which was in control of Egypt, to abolish the capitulations system and to place foreigners under the local Egyptian legal system.

A new opportunity arose following the conclusion of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, when negotiations began to settle the abolition of capitulations in Egypt.

The agreement provided for the total abolition of capitulations and the placing of foreigners in Egypt under the Egyptian legal system.