President El Sisi and the first lady received France’s President Macron and first lady

Cairo – Eco – Fady Labib : President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and the first lady received on Monday France’s President Emmanuel Macron and first lady at the Ittihadia Palace, where a formal reception was held and guards of honor inspected. This was followed by summit talks that later expanded to include delegations from the two countries ...

President El Sisi welcomed the French president on his first visit to Egypt and lauded the strong momentum that the Egyptian-French relations have recently gained in various fields. This is in addition to the alignment in views of decision makers in both Egypt and France on various proposals and regional and international issues of mutual interest.

President E Sisi emphasized the special and diverse historic bonds that the Egyptian and French people share, which set a perfect model for cooperation across the Mediterranean. The President confirmed the political will and mutual interest to promote the strategic partnership between the two countries at all levels so as to realise common interests.

French President Macron expressed his appreciation for the warm reception and hospitality that he received in Egypt and highlighted Egypt’s rich cultural and human heritage. He confirmed the strong and historic ties between Egypt and France and stated that Egypt is an important regional power and key partner that France respects and appreciates. Therefore, this visit is an opportunity to reinforce this partnership and enhance ongoing cooperation.

The French president confirmed that his country looks forward to increasing coordination with Egypt on African affairs during Egypt’s upcoming chairmanship of the African Union, particularly in areas that seek to realise security and stability in the African countries. This is in addition to the possibility of launching trilateral cooperation between the two countries in this regard to support fields of development in Africa.

The meeting touched on ways to promote and develop different aspects of the bilateral ties, mainly in areas of priority that include the political, military, security, economic, cultural, developmental and tourism fields, to be commensurate with the ambitions and aspirations of both countries. This shall take place through the transfer of know-how, cooperation in the areas of development and financing as well as taking advantage of the multitude of investment and trade opportunities.

President El Sisi highlighted the huge investment opportunities in various economic sectors and mega national projects on which French companies can capitalize. These include the Suez Canal Area Development Project, transport and infrastructure projects, automotive industry and the establishment of new urban communities, including the new administrative capital, particularly in light of the available investment advantages and incentives. This is in addition to the significant improvement in the business climate and diverse Egyptian market and its geographical proximity to regional markets with which Egypt shares free trade agreements, which makes them a gateway for French exports to access the region's markets. President Macron lauded the positive outcomes of the comprehensive economic reform program that Egypt is implementing that has led to an improved performance of economic and financial indicators, GDP growth and development in the country. He affirmed that Egypt remains an attractive destination for French investment institutions, which increased recently due to the ambitious and bold structural reforms that the Egyptian government is implementing. The French president expressed his keenness to encourage the French investors to keep up with endeavors to rebuild the Egyptian state.

The two presidents also discussed at length a number of regional issues of mutual interest, in light of the dangerous repercussions that the Middle East is experiencing. These repercussions affect the region’s stability and security and cast a shadow over Europe. This requires supporting cooperation between Egypt and France within multilateral international organizations and frameworks and expanding security coordination and consultation between the two countries to confront common challenges like terrorism, extremism and illegal migration. The two presidents discussed the latest developments of the Palestinian issue. They also tackled the situation in Libya and Syria and views were aligned on the importance of promoting international efforts to reach political solutions to these crises so as to preserve these countries’ unity, territorial integrity and national institutions.

President El Sisi and President Macron witnessed the signing of eight agreements and Memoranda of Understanding in the areas of economic and social development, transport, health, education, culture and small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises.