The purpose of this article is to identify the main stages in the development of foreign language education at universities in Egypt. The author of the work presents the periodization of the history of the formation of teaching foreign languages in the Arab state under consideration. The developed periodization is based on the principle of correlation of socio-cultural conditions with the determinants of the development of foreign language education. Thus, it is established that the interest of Egypt in the study of certain languages by citizens of the country is often determined by socio-cultural, economic, political factors that have an external impact on the strategy for the development of foreign language education in higher educational institutions of the designated state.