Egyptian, EU parliaments discuss religious coexistence

CAIRO – 22 November 2017: Tarek Radwan, chief of the Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, held a meeting on Wednesday with Georgi Holvinia, head of the European Union Parliament’s Working Group on Intercultural and Religious Dialogue. They met to discuss ways to enhance religious coexistence.

During the meeting, Holvinia expressed his happiness about his visit to Egypt, which aimed to enhance Egyptian-Hungarian dialogue, exchange expertise in religious and cultural diversity in Egypt, and discuss religious coexistence among peoples.

Radwan noted that Egypt has been characterized by its religious and cultural diversity and by the respect spread among religions. He added that the problems faced by Egypt’s Coptic Christians have emerged after the Muslim Brotherhood had taken power. He also pointed out that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi tries hard to heal the rift, by attending Coptic celebrations and issuing a law to build churches.

As for the crisis of refugees, Radwan noted that Egypt has hosted around 7.5 million refugees, including 600 Syrian refugees, and integrated them in the local society.

He concluded that Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on December 10.

In this regard, Radwan met on November 13 with Greek Ambassador to Egypt Michael Christos in Cairo, where Radwan warmly welcomed the ambassador and emphasized the deeply-rooted ties between Egypt and Greece.

Christos proposed exchanging parliamentary visits between the two countries to bolster mutual ties, a suggestion warmly received by Radwan.

The Greek ambassador reiterated his state’s full support for Egypt in its war against terrorism, adding that Egypt is fighting terrorism on behalf of the whole world. Greece firmly believes that Egypt’s stability and its triumph in combating terrorism is crucial to the stability of the whole region, including Europe; otherwise the region would face serious waves of terror and illegal immigration.

“Egypt does not only fight terrorism, but also undergoes the challenge of building up its infrastructure, including provision of clean water, sanitation, and electricity, as well as proper education for areas that lack these facilities,” Radwan said in a press release. He also said that “Egypt will not accept a pre-prepared list by other countries to be imposed, as Egypt has its own troubles requiring solutions that suit the Egyptian environment.”