Egypt seeks more cooperation with EU countries

CAIRO - 7 February 2020: The Egyptian Foreign Ministry held on Thursday a meeting for European ambassadors in Cairo to seek more cooperation with the European Union economically, culturally, and politically, according to a statement from the ministry.

Headed by Foreign Minister Aide for European Affairs Badr Abdel-Atti, the meeting tackled the ways of enhancing and developing cooperation between Egypt and EU organizations such as Union for the Mediterranean, the Anna Lindh Foundation in Egypt, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez in the statement.

He noted that the meeting also comes in light of Egypt’s ongoing consultation with the Visegrád Group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia).

The Egyptian officials discussed the means of bolstering the trade and investment ties between both sides and of getting benefits from the Egyptian deals with a number of Arab and African countries like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Hazef said.

Abdel-Atti and other Ethiopian officials also reviewed the Egyptian economic situation and the promising investment opportunities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), shedding light on the importance of enhancing cooperation in the artificial intelligence field and European inbound tourism to Egypt.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Aide for International and Regional Multilateral Economic Affairs Omar abu Aish presented Egypt’s energy plan to be a platform for more cooperation between European Countries after founding the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, Hafez continued.

The Egyptian officials also tackled the latest situations in Libya and Syria, affirming the necessity of unifying the international efforts to put an end to some countries’ intervention into the Libyan and Syrian crises.

Regarding the human rights issues, Egypt reviewed the latest development of establishing the Permanent Supreme Committee for Human Right, which was announced in November 2018.

The participants from both sides agreed on holding another meeting in near future, Hafez said.