At a joint press conference, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi gave a significant speech following talks in Cairo on Wednesday with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
Sisi and von der Leyen exchanged views and discussed means to strengthen partnership and cooperation between Egypt and the European Union in various fields.
They also discussed means to enhance fruitful and constructive coordination on regional and international issues of mutual interest to be consistent with our pursuit to achieve security, stability, and development on the international level and in our common regional neighborhood.
“Your visit to Egypt today comes amid intense momentum in Egypt’s relations with the European Union during the recent period. Through our continuous direct communication and joint effort at all levels, we seek to enhance and intensify this momentum to make a qualitative leap in our partnership particularly in light of the difficult political and economic conditions the world currently going through,” Sisi said.
He added, “Our meeting today is an opportunity to stress again that Egypt takes pride in having the European Union as a core partner in various fields, especially that Egypt is taking steady steps toward construction and development through an ambitious future vision. This is driven by our awareness and consideration of the importance and leverage of the European Union, a main economic and political power on the international arena.”
Sisi affirmed, “Egypt has historical relationships and extended political, economic and cultural ties with its member states that have been traditionally established then have been continuously accumulating and developing over decades.”
“In this context, our discussions today dealt with ways to make a qualitative leap in the Egyptian-European partnership in the upcoming period.”
In his speech, the Egyptian president noted that “This would be achieved through strengthening cooperation in various priority sectors within the Egyptian development vision, mainly: energy and clean energy, food security, digital transformation, electric transport, modern agriculture and irrigation and vaccines manufacturing,” explaining that “This comes along with the mechanisms of encouraging European companies to make more investments in Egypt and encouraging the tripartite cooperation between Egypt and the European Union with our African continent partners.”
“Allow me, Your Excellency President of the Commission, to welcome you on the occasion of the forthcoming adoption of the EU-Egypt partnership priorities to 2027. These Partnership Priorities act as an ambitious framework on which we all agreed to strengthen and deepen the partnership between Egypt and the European Union during the upcoming years to lay the foundation for a massive breakthrough in institutional coordination between both sides in all aspects of cooperation and in various sectors to the mutual benefit of both sides.”
“Our discussions today particularly focused on means to strengthen and support cooperation between Egypt and the European Union in the field of energy, whether natural gas or electrical interconnection.”
“We agreed on the importance of establishing a strategic partnership between both sides in this vital area for the future of development. We also agreed to cooperate in the fields of technical and financial support and investments to develop the infrastructure for the production of green hydrogen as a source of clean energy,” he said.
Sisi added, “Our meeting today also discussed our joint coordination with regard to the international efforts to address the challenge of climate change. The President of the European Commission was informed of Egypt’s recent organizational and thematic preparations by hosting the Global Climate Summit (COP-27) in Sharm El-Sheikh next November.”
“There was a convergence of views on the fact that COP 27 provides a precious opportunity, and so the international community has to work hard to seize it in order to reach a consensus regarding tangible operational steps at all levels of global climate change action. This would give a strong and much-needed push for international efforts to address climate change, a common challenge confronting all of us as one human family.”
“In this regard, I was keen to have our constructive discussions today with you focusing on a number of vital issues of common concern at the international and regional levels. We exchanged views on the manifestations of the current international economic crisis, especially with regard to food security and the rise in energy prices.”
Sisi said, “I exchanged views with Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen on the most prominent challenges related to the current international economic crisis and reviewed the measures taken by the Egyptian State to preserve the difficult gains which were achieved with the Egyptian’s precious efforts and sacrifices during the years of economic reform and then the coronavirus pandemic after that.”
“We have agreed on the necessity of working to coordinate international efforts with all partners to mitigate the impact of the international food crisis, especially on the countries most affected by its repercussions, and the importance of providing technical and financial support to help these countries deal with the high prices of grain and food and agricultural commodities, as well as financing projects related to agriculture and agricultural technology development in a way that contributes to increasing productivity and achieving self-sufficiency.”
“I was also keen, during the discussions, to inform the President of the European Commission of the Egyptian vision on the most important issues of common concern in our regional neighborhood and to present the tireless Egyptian efforts to restore stability and resolve crises in our region. I have also presented the successes achieved in terms of combating terrorism and illegal immigration, as well as the current position with regard to the Renaissance Dam issue. In this regard, I stressed that Egypt is keen to reach a legally binding agreement that achieves the interests of all parties. We have agreed to continue coordination with the European Union with regard to these vital files.”
“It also touched on the steps that the Egyptian state has taken recently toward its ultimate goal which is to establish decent living conditions for its citizens, on top of which are the major economic development projects and comprehensive social initiatives that aim to improve the quality of life on the land of Egypt for its people. These efforts also include the launch of the first national strategy for human rights which includes an ambitious vision and steps that are being implemented to promote citizenship rights and religious freedoms and to combat extremism, based on our belief in the importance of addressing human rights through a comprehensive perspective.”
He concluded, “On the other hand, our discussions today tackled the current Russian-Ukrainian crisis. I clarified the aspects of our vision toward the crisis, its roots and repercussions, emphasizing Egypt’s principled positions which necessitate giving priority to the language of dialogue and peaceful solutions and making sincere efforts to achieve this.”
Follow the latest news on Google News
