Sisi's visit to Austria politically comprehensive: FM

CAIRO - 20 December 2018: Egypt's Foreign Minister SamehShoukry affirmed that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi'svisit to Austria was politically and economically comprehensive, adding that the visit pushes the bilateral relations forward.

In an interview with Egypt Today, Shoukry said Sisi was keen during his visit to meet big Austrian companies operating in the economic sector, adding that some of these companies are already launch investments, while others are determined to invest in the North African country.

Shoukryreferred to a number of agreements signed during the visit in many fields of mutual cooperation. He added that the joint committee between the two countries will be held soon, even at the technical level, to study aspects of cooperation and reach more agreements.

During the visit, Sisi and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz attended the signing of a number of memorandaof understanding and cooperation agreements between the two countries.

The first memorandum for investment was signed by Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and Austrian Minister of Finance HartwigLöger.
They also signed another memorandum on cooperation in the field of entrepreneurship and small investors and a third one on cooperation in promoting free zones.

Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar and Austrian Minister of Education, Science and Research Heinz Fassmann signed a memorandum in the field of higher education and scientific research.

Also, Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukri and the Austrian secretary general for innovation and technology signed a memorandum on cooperation in the technology and innovation field.

The two countries also signed a memorandum on cooperation in the railway and infrastructure domains.

Furthermore, Abdel Ghaffar and his Austrian counterpart signed a memorandum between Sinai University in the New Administrative Capital and the Austrian MODUL University and another cooperation agreement between the Medical University of Vienna and Nahda University in BeniSueif.



As for Sisi's participation in the High-Level Forum Africa-Europe, Shoukri said that the Egyptian delegation was one of the largest participating delegations in terms of the number of participating ministers and businessmen who participated in the research and discussion forums.

He also referred to the president's vision on the importance of the Afro-European cooperation, which will strengthen African capacities andcontribute to resolving political issues in the African continent, protecting African citizens from illegal migration.

Shoukry also highlighted Sisi's vision onthe necessity of involving the international, European and African communities in determining comprehensive mechanisms to fight terrorism.

Shoukry said Sisiis keen on promoting African integration, activating the African Continental Free Trade agreement and achieving further integration among African countries at the political and economic levelsthrough linking infrastructure between African countries.

The High-Level Forum Africa-Europe kicked off on Tuesday in Vienna as it holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2018.

Shoukry earlier described Sisi's participation in the forum as "unique" in terms of reviewing Egypt's vision towards the African issues after assuming the presidency of the African Union and its capability of pushing forward integration and cooperation between the African and European countries.