FM meets with his Mauritanian, Maltese, Spanish counterparts

CAIRO – 9 October 2018: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met on Monday his Mauritanian, Spanish and Maltese counterpart on the sidelines of the third regional forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), currently held in Barcelona to discuss promoting bilateral relations.

In his meeting with Mauritanian counterpart Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Shoukry pointed out Egypt’s interest for promoting relations with Mauritania, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Hafez.

He said that Cairo appreciates the current level of bilateral coordination and cooperation between the two countries, reflected in the exchange of high-level mutual delegations including the visit of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to Egypt in November 2017.

Hafez further remarked that the two ministries tackled the development achieved in bilateral cooperation, reviewed the results of political consultative tours between the two countries, which Cairo, Egypt, hosted on September 23, and prepared the Joint Committee meeting set to be held in Nouakchott, Mauritania.

In this regard, Ould Cheikh Ahmed expressed his country’s pride of historic relations with Egypt and attempted to promote bilateral relations, along with Nouakchott’s interest to coordinate and consult with Egypt on different African and Arab issues.

In his meeting with Maltese Minister of Foreign Affairs Carmelo Abella, Shoukry hoped that Abela's proposed visit to Cairo would be an opportunity to promote bilateral cooperation in the face of common challenges in the Mediterranean region, and to discuss the conditions in Libya.

Shoukry also confirmed that it is essential to back UN efforts aiming to find a permanent solution to the Libyan crisis. During the meeting, he stressed the importance of economic relations between the two countries.

They also discussed Egypt's efforts to combat illegal immigration, saying no illegal migration boats are recorded to have sailed from Egyptian shores since September 2016, the spokesperson said.

Shoukry also held a meeting with Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, during which he commended the ties established with Spain and voiced his interest to continue coordination and cooperation between the two Mediterranean countries at regional and international events and forums. He called for increasing the number of Spanish tourists in Egypt.

He noted the importance of reaching a comprehensive solution to the Libyan crisis, and the problems of illegal immigration and terrorism.

In the meantime, Borrell was interested in listening to Egypt's vision on a number of regional issues of joint concern, primarily the situation in Libya.