CAIRO – 30 May 2022: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has welcomed Poland’s decision to resume the direct flights of the national Polish airline between Cairo and Warsaw as of 31 May.
In a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Cairo on Monday, Sisi hailed the Polish step in this regard, saying Poland ranks fifth among the countries sending tourists to Egypt.
“We rely heavily on this step to facilitate transportation and investment between the two countries, which shall attract Polish investments to Egypt and increase the flow of Polish tourism to Egypt’s destinations,” the president said.
Bilateral relations
Sisi said he discussed with President Duda the means to further enhance and develop relations between Egypt and Poland in various fields to achieve the interests of both the Egyptian and Polish peoples.
“This requires intensifying mutual visits at various levels to deepen cooperation in areas of common interest, particularly economic cooperation, promising opportunities in different fields, the most important of which is increasing trade exchange,” the president said.
President Sisi added that fields of trade between the two countries that should be enhanced especially include exporting urea, phosphate, methanol and construction materials from Egypt to Poland.
Sisi also called for intensifying cooperation with Poland in the fields of digital transformation, new and renewable energy, water desalination and waste recycling, as well as tourism and medical services.
He expressed Egypt’s keenness to benefit from Poland’s expertise in these fields as well as to transfer and localize Polish technology in Egypt.
Duda, for his part, said he discussed with Sisi the possibility to import liquified natural gas (LNG).
The Polish president said Egypt and Poland has a main base for economic cooperation and cooperation in digitalization, information technology sharing besides military and agricultural cooperation.
Duda said he discussed with Sisi different topics important to both countries and their diplomatic relations, adding that the two countries are launching a new era of bilateral relations.
Concerning archaeology, the Polish president said he asked for having a new archaeological station in Luxor to give opportunity for Polish archaeologists to enhance their cooperation and scientific activities with regard to Egyptology and the Egyptian civilization.
Duda said he discussed with Sisi the potential to export some crops to Egypt, adding that Poland is independent with regard to food supplies and exports food to other countries.
Relations with Europe
The Egyptian president said he informed Duda of the developments in Egypt related to the work of the European Union, including the issues of human rights and counterterrorism.
This comes especially with the launch of the first National Strategy for Human Rights in September last year as well as the progress that has been made in the field of promoting citizenship rights, religious freedoms, and combating extremism, Sisi noted.
Sisi expressed Egypt's aspiration for Poland's support for the Egyptian efforts to eliminate terrorism by highlighting the national efforts exerted with the aim of maintaining regional and international security and stability.
President Sisi also affirmed the need to multiply efforts to confront terrorism internationally, particularly with regard to the financing of terrorism and providing safe havens to terrorists.
The discussions addressed Egypt’s efforts to stop illegal immigration from the Egyptian coasts to Europe through the Mediterranean.
“This comes despite the burden [that these efforts] place on the Egyptian economy by hosting more than six million refugees who enjoy all essential rights and services in Egypt,” Sisi stated.
He added that Egypt’s hosting of these refugees has had great impact in relieving the pressure of migration from the European continent, whose countries have been recently witnessing an intense influx of immigrants.
Duda, for his part, affirmed his country’s support to all negotiations aiming to export Egyptian natural gas to EU.
Cooperation on climate
Sisi welcomed Poland's willingness to provide expertise regarding Egypt's hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), Sisi said, taking into account the fact that Poland hosted three previous sessions of the summit.
Sisi said he agreed with Duda on supporting the stability of social and economic development, while implementing measures concerning climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Duda said he will try to attend COP27 in person and affirmed that Poland will be presented at the highest level during the conference.
Ethiopia’s mega dam
The discussions also addressed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue, the Egyptian president said, adding that he reviewed with Duda the Egyptian efforts over the last decade in this regard.
Sisi affirmed that the decade-long negotiations on GERD have aimed at reaching an equitable and legally binding agreement which ensures that the Egyptian water interests and the rights of current and future generations in the Nile water, the main source of water for Egypt, would remain intact and.
The negotiations, at the same time, have aimed to ensure the achievement of the Ethiopian development goals, Sisi said.
For his part, Duda said that Poland understands the importance of River Nile and GERD, which is a matter of concern to both Egypt and Poland.
Duda affirmed that his country supports Egypt in order to ensure that the dam does not have any negative impact on Egypt, saying that this issue is a matter of concern to all north African countries.
Palestinian cause
The Palestinian cause, the core issue in the region, was also discussed during the meeting with Duda, Sisi said.
In this regard, the Egyptian president affirmed the importance of implementing the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“This requires the settlement policy and the annexation of the Palestinian lands to come to an end as well as the need for conditions conducive for serious and constructive negotiations that lead to a sustainable settlement to this prolonged conflict,” Sisi stated.
Russia-Ukraine crisis
Sisi said he discussed with Duda the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which casts a shadow over the entire global economy and threatens food security in various countries of the world.
Poland’s view with regard to the causes of the crisis and means to overcome them was reviewed, Sisi said, noting that Egypt's position regarding the crisis is to address all means to achieve calm and reach a peaceful solution to the conflict.
The Egyptian president affirmed the need for exerting all efforts to achieve these goals on the bilateral, regional or international levels.
Sisi said he highlighted the importance of finding alternatives and solutions to ensure that people circumvent the negative impact of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
Egyptian efforts exerted to contribute to settling the crisis were reviewed through the Egyptian initiative to form a ministerial contact group within the framework of the Arab League, Sisi said.
Last April, the group visited Moscow and Warsaw to meet with the foreign ministers of concerned countries to urge all parties to achieve calm and give priority to dialogue and negotiation until a settlement is reached in order to prevent the scourge of war and its dire economic effects, the Egyptian president added.
Duda said Poland hopes that the boycott imposed over Egypt as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war will end with negotiations that include Ukraine.
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