Egypt’s FM discusses Ukraine crisis’s economic impacts with French, German counterparts

CAIRO – 2 April 2022: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the global impacts of the Russia-Ukraine crisis in phone calls with his French and German counterparts.

Shoukry briefed France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on the Egyptian steps to deal with the impacts of the crisis, urging France, within the framework of its chairmanship of the European Union, to provide economic and political support to Egypt, a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry read.

This should be done within the framework of the EU and also within the international funding institutions in support of Egypt’s efforts to tackle the crisis’s impacts, the Egyptian minister said.

Shoukry and Le Drian discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations on all tracks and a number of international and regional issues of common interest.

The two ministers voiced appreciation for the positive developments regarding the two countries’ bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Shoukry also welcomed the results of the visit of the French Minister of Finance, Bruno Le Maire, to Egypt last week to follow up on the implementation of a number of existing cooperation projects and to sign a number of important agreements to launch new paths of cooperation.

During his visit to Cairo, Le Maire said President Emmanuel Macron and the French government are keen to support Egypt, especially after it was affected by the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, with regard to commodity prices, and the lack of wheat imports globally, which will greatly affect a number of countries over the coming months.

The French minister met with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, describing the meetings as fruitful and constructive.

Phone call with German FM

Shoukry made a phone call with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, during which they focused on ways to support bilateral relations at the political and economic levels.

They also discussed developments of international issues of common interest, including the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

The two ministers discussed ways of joint action to enhance Egyptian capabilities to face the negative economic repercussions associated with the Ukraine crisis.