French finance minister affirms keenness to maximize cooperation with Egypt

CAIRO – 22 July 2022: French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has affirmed France’s keenness to maximize cooperation with Egypt in various fields in a way that benefits the current development process in Egypt.

This comes especially in light of the Egyptian efforts in all fields regarding achieving economic and development accomplishments as well as the Egyptian pivotal role in establishing the security and stability pillars in the Middle East region, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said.

For his part, the president expressed his aspiration to deepen and develop the prospects of joint cooperation with France in the economic and commercial fields.

This comes especially by increasing French investments in Egypt in light of the promising opportunities offered by major projects, Sisi said.

The two sides agreed on the importance of boosting French development projects and investments in Egypt, especially in the new and renewable energy sector, in light of the approaching global climate summit (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh next November.

Sisi arrived in France earlier on Friday, where he held summit discussions with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, after a visit to Germany and Serbia this week.

During his visit to Serbia, Sisi held summit talks in Belgrade with President Aleksandar Vučić and participated in the opening of the Egyptian-Serbian Business Forum, joined by Vučić and a number of senior Serbian officials and representatives of various relevant government authorities.

Both presidents witnessed the signing ceremony of a number of memoranda of understanding and cooperation programs between Egypt and Serbia on Wednesday.

Those covered the fields of agriculture; environment, investment; culture and arts; media; education; higher education; standardization and information support; and the development of medium, small and micro enterprises.

The programs also covered the Areas of cooperation between the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and the Museum of African Arts in Serbia, as well as mutual exemption from obtaining visas for holders of diplomatic, special and mission passports.

Sisi received on Thursday an honorary doctorate by the University of Belgrade for his local development efforts and spreading the thought and culture of peace, cooperation and construction on the regional and international levels, the Presidency said.

In Germany, Sisi met with German officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht.