Al-Sisi's meeting with Czech Prime Minister - File photo
CAIRO - 4 July 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi discussed cooperation with the Visegard countries to combat terrorism and extremism, according to his speech in the Visegard Group summit in Hungary on Tuesday.
The meeting was held during the president’s visit to Hungary that began on Saturday. Egypt is the third non-member state to be invited to participate in a Visegrad Group summit – after Japan and Germany, according to a statement by presidency spokesman Alaa Youssef on Monday.
During the meeting, Sisi and the Visegard Group agreed to dry up the terrorism funding resources and undermine the logistic and political support granted to terrorist and extremist groups.
President Sisi further tackled the refugee crisis, illegal migration and regional crises in the Middle East such as Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya. Moreover, Sisi reaffirmed the two-state solution is the best option to resolve and promote the peace process in the region.
The summit reflected the enthusiasm of the group member states and Egypt to promote relations between them.
The Visegrad Group – which constitutes Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic – was formed in 1991 with the aim of having member countries work together in a “number of fields of common interest within the all-European integration,” according to the group’s website.
Slovakia supports Egypt’s fight against terrorism: PM
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed his country's support for Egypt's fight against terrorism during his speech at the final press conference of the Visegrad Group summit.
“We are doing all we can to support Egypt's stability as a pillar of the stability of the entire region,” said Fico.
Fico added the summit's recognition of Egypt’s central role in the fight against terrorism and the country's need to protect its borders and contribute to securing the situation in Libya.
Al-Sisi during his meeting with Visegard group
During the summit, Fico highlighted the great cooperation between the four countries of the group and Egypt in the field of energy, especially nuclear, particularly given that Cairo is looking forward to launching its peaceful nuclear program, a giant project that is projected to generate 1200 MW of power.
Sisi’s bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit:
On the sidelines of president summit with the Visegrad Group, Sisi met the Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. Sobotka reaffirmed his country’s support of the Egyptian people's will and efforts to fight terrorism and achieve overall development.
The president said he is looking forward to promote cooperation with Prague in the various domains, welcoming an invitation to visit the Czech Republic, said Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef on Tuesday.
The meeting also took up investment opportunities in Egypt in light of the new national projects, as well as efforts exerted to lure more investments in the country, the spokesman said.
Sisi further expressed keenness on boosting bilateral cooperation in the field of training technicians and capacity building, along with benefiting from the Czech experience in the various domains, Youssef added.
For his part, the Czech prime minister extolled the existing cooperation between the Egyptian government and the Czech Institute of Egyptology over the past years.
Egypt and the Czech Republic agreed on holding a big antiquities exhibition in Prague in 2019 to mark the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the institute's activities in Egypt, he added.
Sobotka also lauded Egypt's central role in shoring up peace and stability in the region, expressing his country's support for Egyptian efforts to fight terrorism and push forward the economic development process.
Egypt is “very important partner”: Poland PM
Poland Prime Minister Beata Szydło said that Egypt is “very important partner” and that the Visegrad summit was a great opportunity to meet with al- Sisi.
“We value Egypt’s efforts in preserving security and stability in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Budapest considers Cairo as a very important partner especially in confronting illegal migration,” Szydło said in statements during a press conference following the summit held in the Hungarian capital Budapest.
She added that the Egyptian bodies have successfully controlled the illegal migration, and that the two governments cooperated more than once regarding this crisis.
Comments
Leave a Comment