Sisi stressed on Monday that Egypt is keen to solve Italian student Giulio Regeni’s murder case, and Egyptian authorities are committed to full transparency with Italian side in this regard.
CAIRO – 18 September 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi stressed on Monday that Egypt is keen to solve Italian student Giulio Regeni’s murder case, and Egyptian authorities are committed to full transparency with Italian side in this regard.
This was during the meeting held between President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and the Italian Chamber of Deputies Roberto Fico on Monday as a part of his two-day official visit.
Presidential spokesman Bassam Rady remarked that Sisi issued directives to remove any obstacles faced by the ongoing investigations to resolve the case, find the perpetrators and provide them before the court, pointing out cooperation between the Egyptian Public Prosecution and its Italian counterpart.
Fico notes his country’s appreciation for the president’s directives and Egypt’s strong determination to resolve the case and seize the perpetrators in cooperation with Italy, which will have a positive effect on Italian public opinion and will contribute to promoting bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Sisi highlighted to Egypt’s interest in intensifying cooperation with Italy in different fields based on historic ties and relations between the two countries, expressing his aspiration to deepen parliamentary relations and intensify bilateral visits.
Sisi further explained that the Fico’s current official visit is the fourth high-level Italian visit to Egypt within less than two months, remarking that these visits are good opportunities to provide further impetus for bilateral cooperation and exchange view points between the two sides in different fields.
In the same context, the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies expressed his pleasure with his visit to Egypt, stressing that historical ties between Egypt and Italy particularly on the economic and commercial fronts.
In this regard, he expressed his aspiration for promoting parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, which will contribute to achieving new momentum in bilateral relations.
Additionally, Rady mentioned, the meeting tackled several common files such as illegal immigration, as Sisi confirmed that Egypt is a credible pioneering partner in combating illegal immigration and taking effective economic and legislative measures to secure borders and control the coasts, which has resulted in halting illegal migration flows from Egyptian coasts since 2016.
In this regard, The Egyptian-Italian relationship is expected to improve significantly in 2018, following the signing and concluding of several new deals and projects between Cairo and Rome, ending the political crisis which occurred after the murder of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni in 2016.
Fruitful economic phase in Cairo-Rome relationship
In 2018, Italian aid in Egypt will amount to €35 million, of which €20 million are soft loans and €15 million are grants. The Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo (AICS) is one of the major contributors on a global scale. These initiatives aim to maintain Italian support for Egyptian private and agricultural sectors, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) included, already provided in the last few years.
At the same time, new areas will also be involved, such as agribusiness, and new recipients such as disabled people and the young generation will benefit. Deliverables include measures targeting illegal immigration.
In the field of investments, the meeting between Cantini and Nasr was dedicated to the new Investment Law – specifically, the final regulations to put it into force - and the contribution that Italian companies can give. The Italian side raised specific initiatives in which some Italian companies are involved.
On January 20, 2018, Minister of Military Production Mohamed el-Assar met with Italian Ambassador Cantini to discuss industrial cooperation between Cairo and Rome.
The meeting focused on the cooperation between military production companies in Egypt and Italian firms. They particularly discussed cooperation in agricultural mechanization technology and software industry, as well as the defense industry.
Giulio Regeni’s Murder
On January 24, 2018, Egypt’s general prosecution said that the letter attributed to the head of Egypt's intelligence service on the arrest of Italian student Giulio Regeni prior to his death in Egypt is untrue.
An unknown person had sent the letter to the Italian Embassy in Bern, Switzerland.
The general prosecution received a letter from the Italian prosecution dated January 22, 2018 containing a fabricated letter dated January 30, 2016 and attributed to the head of Egypt’s intelligence service, the prosecution said in a statement on Wednesday.
The letter claims that Egypt’s security bodies arrested Giulio Regeni before his death in Cairo.
Italian prosecution demanded that Egypt’s investigation authorities do whatever necessary in order to check the authenticity of the letter in compliance with judicial cooperation between the two countries on Regeni’s murder, according to the statement.
Investigations conducted by Egypt’s prosecution revealed that the letter is completely untrue and forged, read the statement.
The prosecution added that it informed the Italian side about the outcome of investigations within the framework of fruitful bilateral cooperation.
Meanwhile, the prosecution said it followed up with deep regret the reports circulated by several Italian media outlets and social media pages on the matter, noting that such reports harm judicial cooperation between Cairo and Rome.
On that score, the prosecution urged the media to check the authenticity of such news and their effect on public opinion.
Italy’s prosecutor-general has paid several visits to Cairo in order to investigate Regeni’s death alongside the Egyptian authorities.
Additional reporting by Nawal Sayed
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