BRUSSELS – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed the importance of promoting constructive dialogue between Cairo and the European Parliament based on friendship and mutual respect.
This came during a meeting on Tuesday between Shoukry and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola on the sidelines of his current visit to Brussels to chair the 10th meeting of the EU-Egypt Association Council.
Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said the meeting comes within the framework of the foreign minister’s keenness to engage in dialogue with various EU institutions.
During their meeting, Shoukry said Egypt attaches importance to strengthen ties with the EU institutions, including the EP, particularly within the framework of the ongoing work to elevate Egypt-EU relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.
The two sides also stressed their common desire to enhance constructive and objective dialogue in areas of joint cooperation.
Shoukry said this dialogue should be based on the foundations of friendship, mutual respect and understanding of the growing challenges facing Egypt and the burdens it bears as a result of the current international and regional challenges.
He also underlined the importance of the EP’s role in providing the necessary support for Egypt to respond to the real economic challenges it faces as a result of the successive regional and international crises.
They also discussed the overall modernization process in Egypt at the political, economic, developmental, social and cultural levels, and efforts made to develop the human rights system and empower women and youth.
He further stressed the importance of enhancing fruitful cooperation between Egypt and the European side, particularly in the domain of youth empowerment and student exchange programs and benefiting from other EU programs in this respect.
For her part, the EP president underlined the importance of the strategy of the EU’s ties with Egypt, which should be used to serve the interests of both sides and help face common economic and security challenges.
She also stressed the crucial role played by Egypt in the region and its non-stop efforts to achieve security and stability, a matter that benefits the security of the European continent.
The meeting also dealt with a number of current regional and international issues, topped by the crisis in the Gaza Strip and the current threats to navigation security in the Red Sea, as the EP president was keen to listen to Shoukry’s assessment of the current situation in the Strip and means to put an end to the war there.
In this context, Shoukry underlined the key role that could be played by the European Parliament as the voice of the European citizen in demanding a permanent ceasefire and paying attention to the unprecedented and unbearable suffering of the Palestinian people over more than 100 days of siege, starvation and attacks.
The talks also touched on the situation in Yemen and Sudan.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed on the importance of engaging in a direct dialogue between the Egyptian and European sides in a way that contributes to boosting mutual understanding and addressing all issues of mutual interest through constructive dialogue.
