President Sisi, Italian foreign minister talk bilateral ties

CAIRO – 5 August 2018: Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi will meet on Sunday with Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Enzo Milanesi as part of his three-day visit to Egypt, according to Egyptian presidential spokesperson Bassam Radi.

Milanesi's visit comes three years after the return of the Italian ambassador to Egypt.

Alongside meeting with the president, Milanesi will also meet with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, for political discussions.

The discussions with Shoukry, which will be held at the Tahrir Palace, will be focused on ways of boosting bilateral relations between Egypt and Italy, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement on Saturday.

Milanesi will also visit on Sunday the Grand Egyptian Museum, after Egyptian artifacts seized in Italy were returned to their home; during the tour, he will be accompanied by the minister of culture and the minister of antiquities.

Since his arrival on Saturday, Milanesi opened a new operation room in the Italian Hospital in Abbasiya and visited the Botroseya Church that suffered a devastating terrorist attack in 2016.

A lot has been going on between Egypt and Italy lately.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry is still following up on the death of the 20 year old Egyptian. It was reported that he attempted to commit suicide in prison, although he was expected to be released next September.

More recently, Egypt has been coordinating with Italian authorities to extradite the blacklisted Mohamed Mahsoob who was held hostage in Italy, but later released due to his dual citizenship.

Egypt and Italy have been aiming to improve relations post the Regeni incident when an Italian student was murdered in 2016. Back then, Sisi had promised Italy’s interior minister and deputy prime minister that he would bring justice to those involved in the student’s death.