CAIRO – 16 October 2024: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Badr Abdel Aty held Wednesday a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares in Cairo.
"We realize the pressure Egypt is enduring because of migrants, but Europe commits to support it to continue its journey," the Spanish foreign minister underscored. It is noteworthy to mention that Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli had stated months ago that the official number of migrants in Egypt is nine million costing the state's budget $10 billion per annum.
Minister Albares hailed the strong relations with Egypt, saying that the two countries have a joint vision on the peace process in the Middle East. He renewed Spain demands on a ceasefire in Gaza, hostage release, entry of humanitarian aid, and the two-state solution as well as support to the UNRWA.
The minister equally underlined Spain's eagerness for cooperating with Egypt in Africa, as he expressed interest in collaborating with Egyptian firms operating in African states given their remarkable developmental role.
Minister Albares also stipulated keenness on bilateral cooperation, showcasing the deal Egypt had with Talgo to obtain seven trains and for the latter to conduct maintenance for 15 years.
"Europe will be providing all support to Egypt on economic reforms. Egypt is a very old ally of Egypt," the Spanish foreign minister concluded.
The two ministers agreed on the necessity of boosting Spanish investments in Egypt, building on the presence of Spanish firms already operating in the country, mainly in the sectors of transport, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and manufacturing among others.
They agreed on activating a joint economic committee that would devise a mechanism to facilitate the entry and operation of Spanish companies in Egypt. That is in addition to launching a Spanish-Egyptian Business Council to create a platform for interaction and cooperation between Egyptian and Spanish investors.
Minister Abdel Aty noted that Spain had put Egypt on top of the list of countries that would receive funds allocated to development in the coming year.
The talks covered issues of joint concern such as terrorism; economic cost of the 10 million migrants living in Egypt and salience of EU support on that front; wars in Gaza Strip and Lebanon; developments in the Horn of Africa; and water dispute.
The Egyptian minister commended the stance of Spain, Norway, Ireland and Slovenia on recognizing the state of Palestine, saying that Egypt looked forward to a full membership of the Palestinian State in the UN General Assembly.
In a related context, the two ministers discussed brokering Lebanese consensus on a president. In that regard, Minister Abdel Aty pointed out that Egypt had operated an air bridge to deliver humanitarian aid to Lebanon where one million got displaced.
The talks also tackled ending the conflict in Sudan, and the delivery of humanitarian aid there, as well as accomplishing unity in Libya by holding parliamentary and presidential elections in tandem.
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