European Council’s president hails Egypt’s efforts to halt illegal immigration

CAIRO – 12 November 2021: European Council President Charles Michel hailed Egypt's efforts to halt illegal immigration since 2016 as he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Paris on Friday.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the international conference on Libya scheduled for later today.

During the meeting, Sisi and Michel agreed on the necessity to enhance coordination between Egypt and the European Council regarding important regional issues, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said in a statement.

This includes the Middle East Peace Process and the situation in Libya, Syria, and Yemen.

Sisi and Michel also affirmed the importance of working on reaching political settlement to these crises in order to restore stability in the region and secure better future for its people.

The meeting also tackled relations between Egypt and the European Council in political, economic and development fields.

Sisi and Michel expressed satisfaction regarding developments of institutional cooperation between the two sides, affirming the keenness to continue joint consultations and enhance mutual dialogue in this regard to support their friendship relations in light of the common challenges and interests.

Michel, for his part, affirmed the European Union’s (EU) keenness to enhance relations with Egypt in all aspects, especially in light of Egypt’s political weight regionally and internationally and for being a link between the Arab and European worlds.

Sisi met on Thursday with French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly, where they agreed on intensifying consultations and coordination during the coming period to counter terrorism.

Earlier on Friday, he also met with Bruno Le Maire, France's economy and finance minister, as well as Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden.