French FM to visit Egypt on Sunday

PARIS - 27 April 2018: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Egypt on Sunday for talks with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi on a host of regional issues and boosting the strategic partnership between the countries in all fields.

In a statement on Friday, the French foreign ministry said Le Drian will also meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit to discuss regional issues, including the Syrian and Libyan crises, as well as the Middle East peace process.

The talks will shed light on progress made by UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame in the Libyan crisis, with the aim of involving all Libyan parties and holding elections as soon as possible, the statement read.

On the peace process, Le Drian is expected to stress France's commitment to find a negotiated solution based on the internationally agreed parameters in order to reach a two-state solution, the statement added.

In addition, the statement said he is expected to reaffirm his country's support for Egypt's efforts to facilitate Palestinian reconciliation.

The statement stressed Egypt's and France's determination to continue to boost cooperation on counter-terrorism, in light of the international conference to combat financing of Daesh and al-Qaeda which was held in Paris on April 26.

Le Drian is also expected to confirm his country's support to the economic reforms carried out by the Egyptian government, the statement said.

During his visit, he will meet with representatives of French companies investing in Egypt and will visit the metro project which is considered to be a symbol of cooperation between the two countries.

The statement underscored that more than 160 French companies operate in Egypt and employ 30,000 persons.

France ranked the sixth investor in Egypt in 2016, with an overall investment of 1.6 billion euros during the same year, while the trade exchange between the two countries amounted to 2.5 billion euros in 2017.