Sisi, Michel discuss Counter-terrorism, illegal migration

CAIRO – 23 September 2019: Counter-terrorism, combating illegal migration, and regional issues were discussed during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on the sidelines of the Health Care session of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, said Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi in a statement.

President Sisi congratulated Michel on being elected as the President of European Council in July 2019, praising the bilateral relations, Radi said. “The president affirmed that Egypt is looking forward to further development in various fields bilaterally or through consultation regarding the regional issues and topics of mutual concern,” Radi said.

President Sisi expressed Egypt’s keenness to develop all bilateral cooperative mechanisms with Belgium in all economic, commercial, investing, touristic, and cultural fields, he added.

Belgian Prime Minister praised Egypt’s role in brining stability and safety to the region, voicing his country’s willingness to increase the bilateral relation with Egypt.
Both leaders discussed the international efforts of counter-terrorism as President Sisi highlighted the necessity to curb any financial or political support to terrorist groups, Radi continued.

President Sisi also shed light on Egypt’s role in curbing the illegal migration as his country completely prevented illegal migration attempts since September 2016, besides hosting million of refugees and migrants from neighboring Arab and African countries.

Other regional issues of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Syrian crisis, and Libya’s turmoil were tackled by the two leaders; “the President affirmed the commitment to the two-state solution, the Arab Peace Initiative and the international legitimacy resolutions as a basis for settling the conflict between the Palestinian and Israeli sides,” said Radi. Sisi also announced Egypt's support to various efforts aimed at reviving the peace process and resuming negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis.