Egypt’s PM Madbouly meets delegation of US Congress members

CAIRO- 25 March 2024: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Monday Egypt is keen on strategic partnership with the United States, noting many aspects of cooperation between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect and common interest.

The statements came during a meeting Madbouly had with a US Congress delegation of both Republican and Democratic parties under Jason Smith, President of House Committee on Ways and Means.

He said Egypt was open and ready to continue close consultation with the US administration regarding various aspects of the crisis in Gaza, based on a shared vision of the inevitability of reaching a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution and supporting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

Egypt supports the two-state solution with the right to self-determination and the independence of their state to June 4, 1967, borders with al-Quds (East Jerusalem) as its capital, he said.

Madbouly said that the economic repercussions of the regional and international crises all require the two countries to work to strengthen their strategic partnership and intensify all forms of coordination and joint cooperation with the aim of establishing peace and security.

Egypt bears the greatest damage as a result of the conflict in the Red Sea region, especially since these events caused the Suez Canal’s revenues to decline by 50%, he said, adding the necessity of stopping the war in Gaza to prevent its expansion.

The Egyptian government maintains solidity and flexibility of the national economy in the face of such external shocks, including continuing to work on implementing structural reforms aimed at increasing production and exports.

He pointed out to the existing cooperation with the World Bank Group and international partners such as the European Union to support structural reforms of the Egyptian economy and development plans aimed at empowering the private sector.

He reviewed the major projects in Egypt, stressing that these projects aim to lay down the foundations for a better life for the Egyptian people, create job opportunities, especially for youth, and develop the necessary infrastructure to attract and encourage investments.

He touched on Egypt’s efforts and continuous coordination with the US side regarding the issue of climate change, especially since the formation of the working group between the two countries in this field, which was officially launched in February 2022 as one of the outcomes of the strategic dialogue, during Egypt’s presidency of the Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el Sheikh.

Many initiatives were launched during the summit, especially in the field of mitigation and adaptation, including the establishment of a number of projects to help advance Egypt’s transition to clean energy, most notably the projects that came within the framework of the National Platform for Smart Green Projects, and Climate Action Nexus of Water, Food and Energy (NWFE), in addition to reaching a historic agreement.