Gareth Bayley presented his credentials to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday, thereby officially starting his role as the new UK Ambassador to Egypt.
Ambassador Bayley’s most recent appointment was as Director for South Asia and Afghanistan in the FCDO in London, while at the same time serving as the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Before that, he was the UK Special Representative for Syria. However, his first diplomatic posting was in Cairo, where he studied Arabic and then served as Second Secretary at the British Embassy from 1998 to 2002.
Marking the occasion, Ambassador Bayley said: “Today I was honored to be able to submit my credentials to His Excellency, President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi. I started my diplomatic career here 24 years ago, coming back to Cairo feels like a homecoming. I am delighted to return to find the relationship between our two countries stronger than ever. Egypt and the UK are partners, with each other, in the region and the world. Egyptians and Brits, working and succeeding together, make our partnership what it is. The partnership has been and always will be key to our success, and I am keen now to see what more we can achieve working together in the fields of climate, security, education, trade, and investment.
The UK looks forward to welcoming the international community to Glasgow at the next UN climate change conference, less than two months away. At the conference, together we bear the fundamental responsibility of making our world safe for future generations. I am confident Egypt will be a leading voice at this conference, promoting the case for renewable energy, standing up for countries and communities which will face the worst effects of climate change, and playing a vital role in helping agree an outcome that saves our planet.”
The ceremony included the accreditation of 23 other ambassadors, ranging from India and Bulgaria to Sweden and Germany.
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