President Sisi, Malaysia's PM Discuss Political, Economic Ties  

Muhyiddin Yassin,  Malaysia's Prime Minister, said that he  discussed yesterday with President  Abdel Fattah El Sisi, a number of files that  focused on efforts to revitalize Malaysia-Egypt bilateral relations and cooperation, especially in the political and economic context.

He indicated that he took the initiative to present the view that it was time for Malaysia to re-establish relations with Egypt where President El Sisi welcomed the proposal and welcomed the discussion involving the top leaders of both countries.

The Malaysian Premier went on to say that he and President El Sisi  touched on issues of mutual interest, especially in fostering greater cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, education, tourism and infrastructure development. Egypt is Malaysia's largest trading partner in the North African region with a trade value of RM 2.06 billion last year.

Egypt is   one of the largest importers of Malaysian palm oil in Africa and the Malaysian PM use the opportunity to encourage Egypt to not only continue to import this commodity, but also to increase imports in the future.

The two leaders of Egypt and Malaysia expressed their readiness to further enhance   trade cooperation in the future.

In this regard, the Malaysian PM proposed  that both countries sign the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, and this proposal has been welcomed by His Excellency the President.

Malaysia also expressed its appreciation for the educational opportunities provided by the Government of Egypt to the people of this country where currently there are about 8,000 Malaysian students studying in various fields such as Islamic studies, medicine and dentistry at several universities in the country.

Muhyiddin Yassin that talks with Egypt's leader touched on regional and international issues, especially the current situation in Palestine. Malaysia praised the constructive role of Egypt in acting as a mediator    in the ceasefire agreement between Palestine and Israel which came into force on May 21.

He revealed that he has raised the prospect of Malaysia-Egypt cooperation in relation to the channeling of Malaysian humanitarian and medical aid to Palestine through the Rafah land crossing which is the only gateway connecting Egypt and Gaza. Muhyiddin Yassin said that Egypt's President  expressed the readiness of the Egyptian Government to assist Malaysia in channeling aid to Palestine.

He pointed out that he and the President concluded the conversation by inviting each other to pay official visits to their respective countries after the COVID-19 pandemic ended.