Romanian, Egyptian presidents confer over economic ties, regional issues

CAIRO – 27 October 2021: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi received his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis Wednesday in Al Itihadiyah presidential palace where they conferred over economic ties, technical cooperation, counterterrorism, the Libyan crisis, and the Palestinian Cause.

They held a joint press conference where President Sisi said they also discussed human rights, including the improvement of living conditions of citizens. In another context, there is congruence among Egyptian and Romanian chiefs of state on the necessity of holding elections in Libya on time by the end of 2021.

President Sisi reiterated the salience of withdrawing mercenaries from Libya in fulfillment of the UN Security Council resolutions on the crisis. He also affirmed Egypt's support to the political solution in the war-torn Arab country. As for the Palestinian Cause, Sisi and Iohannis stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination over the issue in international conventions.

With regard to bilateral relations, the Egyptian and Romanian presidents agreed on reinforcing economic ties, and holding the fourth meeting of the joint economic committee for that purpose. The targeted sectors are energy, investment, manufacturing, trade, and tourism.

On the sidelines of the Romanian president’s visit to Cairo, a conference is held for Romanian businessmen to get acquainted with investment opportunities in Egypt.   

President Sisi noted that Iohannis' visit marks the 115th anniversary of the establishment of Egyptian-Romanian relations. He also highlighted his 2019 visit to Romania saying it was the first visit by an Egyptian president in 15 years to the country, and that it reflected Egypt's keenness on boosting its relations with the European state.

Equally, the Egyptian president commended Romania's "constructive role" in Balkans, and within the European Union (EU).

On his side, President Iohannis affirmed his "deep faith" that the new round of meetings of the Egyptian-Romanian Joint Economic Committee will play a remarkable role in expanding bilateral cooperation, establishment of joint projects, updating the legal framework of such cooperation, and coming up with ways of developing cooperation in other sectors soon. Those sectors are defense, telecommunications, information technology, cyber security, education, scientific research, and innovation.

The Romanian chief of state noted that Egypt and his country are gateways for the European and African markets, which makes it crucial for businessmen from both countries to develop partnerships.

Iohannis underscored that Egypt plays a key role in the region, particularly on the front of maintaining security regionally and globally. He added that his country backs Egypt's endeavors aimed at contributing to resolving crises in the Middle East and Africa in collaboration with international partners.

In that context, the Romanian president noted that his country has been maintaining – over decades - its balanced stance on Middle Eastern crises, complying with international law.  

Iohannis stated that Romania supports increasing confidence in Palestinian-Israeli relations, and making the environment favorable for the resumption of direct negotiations between both parties in the direction of the two-state solutions being the only solution that would fulfill the legitimate aspirations of Palestine and Israel. He also expressed support to devising a solution to the Syrian crisis, which incurred tragedies, and a large number of migrants, which has had a negative impact on host countries.