Following talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, President of European Commission von der Leyen delivered a speech, stressing Europe-Egypt significant ties.
“Thank you very much, Mr President, for the warm welcome. I am very pleased to visit you here in Cairo to discuss indeed, what we did today, how to broaden and intensify a very good cooperation we do have already. There is a strong basis and foundation of different files, on which we are working together,” she said.
And there is a strong commitment and the knowledge of trust and reliability between both sides.
“And this is a very good and substantial foundation to increase the cooperation and to strengthen the bonds between us. There are many topics that are indeed the proof of the intense cooperation we have. And they are reflected in the joint statement that is being prepared for the Association Council that is upcoming in the next days. And it reflects the width and the depth of our cooperation.”
She added” I want to focus today on, of course, two main topics that we have been discussing intensively. The first one is, of course, the topic of food security. And we see that Ukraine, that used to be the granary of the world before the war, is now in a very difficult situation.”
”And we have to do everything so that the supply of grain, that is trapped in Ukraine because of the Russian war, is being exported to the world, so that Russia is no more blockading the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. At the moment being, 20 million tonnes of grain are stuck, are trapped in Ukraine. And we have seen that food prices have been skyrocketing in many countries. 80% of your wheat imports are coming from Russia and Ukraine.So this is a concern about food security and food prices that is real.”
“Let me reassure you again that we stand by your side also concerning this topic. We will provide an immediate relief of EUR 100 million to Egypt for the immediate situation now of food security. This will hopefully help to increase the grain storage capacity and will provide finance for rural businesses and farmers. But that is only for the short term.”
The European Union is very interested in investing in the local food production. We will devote EUR 3 billion to agriculture and nutrition, water and sanitation programmes over the next years, here in the region. These investments will support food systems in your region and elsewhere, so that we can together discuss how to develop solutions and technologies that are fit for purpose here in Egypt. These are the modern technologies of precision farming, you mentioned artificial intelligence, the new crops adapted to climate change. Because it is so important for us that, in the region, the production of food is improved and increased, and thus the dependency from other regions is reduced. Over time, this will ensure stable supplies of quality and affordable food for all. And this is the common interest that we do have.
“Egypt will be at the heart of this major shift. I am very much looking forward, Mr President, to working with you on this, also to mobilise together a strong international response.”
“Egypt is a trustworthy partner. For us is important that we really discuss the whole width of energy supply that is possible.”
She pointed out “Today, we are already taking a very important step, as we have signed in the morning a Memorandum of Understanding of natural gas delivery from Israel to Egypt. Here, gas will be liquefied and then transported to the European Union. This is a big step forward in the energy supply to Europe, but also for Egypt to become a regional energy hub.”
“COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. Egypt has the potential to be a leader in renewable energy production and export. And therefore, we all know that your country will play a crucial role in COP27 to keep the global community on track towards our climate goals, but also to boost the modern technologies for clean energy that is so necessary.”
Follow the latest news on Google News
