PM: 'Egypt continues to provide all forms of relief to Palestinians'

CAIRO - 20 February 2024: Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, received Adama Bictogo, President of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire, and his accompanying delegation, at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, during his current visit to Cairo. The meeting was attended by Counselor Alaa El-Din Fouad, Minister of Parliamentary Councils Affairs.

The Prime Minister welcomed Bictogo at the headquarters of the Egyptian government, saying: "I welcome the President of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire and his accompanying delegation here at the new headquarters of the government in the New Administrative Capital, which we moved to about a year ago. The parliament is also scheduled to move within a few months."

Madbouly asked to convey the greetings of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, expressing his appreciation for the fraternal and cooperative relations that bind Egypt and Côte d'Ivoire.

He congratulated the Ivorian national team on winning the African Cup of Nations in its last edition, praising the efforts made by Côte d'Ivoire to improve its sports system and build many infrastructure projects, which resulted in the successful organization of the tournament.

Madbouly pointed out that the Egyptian government is looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations and joint cooperation between the two countries in all fields, and continuing to build on the results of President El-Sisi's visit to Abidjan in April 2019.

He referred to the expansion of the scope of joint cooperation between the two countries within the framework of Egypt's keenness to activate South-South cooperation and support the Ivorian government, considering the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire a pivotal state in West Africa and the African continent in general.

He praised the Ivorian National Development Plan 2021-2025, which aims to strengthen the role of the private sector and enable Côte d'Ivoire to become a center for commercial and economic activities in the West African region.

The Prime Minister affirmed that he supports and encourages the Egyptian private sector to establish partnerships in the priority development projects for Côte d'Ivoire, reviewing in this regard the expertise that Egyptian companies enjoy.

Madbouly also affirmed Egypt's keenness to support the stability of Côte d'Ivoire through the role of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in spreading the moderate thought of Islam and combating extremist thought.

During the meeting, Bictogo thanked the Prime Minister and the Minister of Parliamentary Councils Affairs for the warm welcome he and his accompanying delegation received since their arrival in Egypt.

"Bictogo" asked to convey the greetings of the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, to His Excellency President El-Sisi.

He said that his visit to Egypt comes within the framework of efforts to strengthen the joint relations between Egypt and Côte d'Ivoire, pointing out that the visit made by President El-Sisi has greatly contributed to strengthening the bonds of brotherhood between the two countries.

He added that as soon as he was elected President of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire, he was keen to visit Egypt and meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in an effort to strengthen parliamentary relations between the two countries, stressing that "parliamentary diplomacy has a major role in strengthening and strengthening relations between countries."

On the economic front,  Bictogo expressed his aspiration to attract more Egyptian companies to invest and work in the Ivorian market, which reflects the strong relations with the Egyptian state, and in light of Côte d'Ivoire's adoption of the South-South cooperation policy.

He added: "Since our arrival in Egypt and seeing the great potential that Egyptian companies enjoy, we are convinced that we can strengthen cooperation and establish more partnerships between the private sector in the two countries, especially since the ties between the peoples can be strengthened through economic relations. In this regard, this visit will be a new beginning to strengthen and support relations between our two countries."

He expressed his appreciation for the humanitarian stance of the Egyptian state towards the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, stressing: "We are proud of the Egyptian stance and its humanitarian treatment of those affected by the war in the sector."

In this regard, he stressed his country's support for the principle of achieving peace between the peoples, and Côte d'Ivoire's condemnation of all forms of violence, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the opening of safe humanitarian corridors.

At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation for Côte d'Ivoire's position in support of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip