Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi welcomed on Sunday a host of European Union (EU) leaders who took part in a landmark Egyptian European summit that was followed by the signing of a joint declaration elevating relations to comprehensive and strategic partnership.
The Egyptian leader made the announcement of the declaration in a joint press conference with European leaders following the main summit session.
Representing the European side in the summit were European Union Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo whose country holds the current rotational presidency of the EU, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulide and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The declaration, President Sisi said in a statement to the press conference, was accompanied by a funding package of nearly 7.4 billion euros to support the Egyptian economy. Soft-term financing, investment guarantees and technical support for the implementation of co-operation projects are the package’s three main components, President Sisi said.
President Sisi noted that he had agreed with the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on organising an Egyptian-European conference during the second half of the year, on the investment opportunities and potentials in Egypt.
Talks with the European side, President Sisi told the declaration signing event, also focused on bolstering co-operation in the field of energy, either in natural gas, production of green hydrogen, or electricity interconnectivity.
On the situation in Gaza, President Sisi said that he had stressed the imperative of an immediate ceasefire in the Strip, as well as ending the Israeli hostilities, urging the European leaders to exert more efforts in this context as well as increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Egyptian leader noted that he had agreed with the European side on the rejection of any Israeli military operation in the Palestinian City of Rafah, for it would double the humanitarian catastrophe civilians in the Strip have been suffering from.
Prior to the declaration event, President Sisi addressed the momentous gathering with the leaders of Italy, Greece, Belgium, Cyprus and Austria together with the European Union Commission, stressing the importance that Egypt pins to its distinguished ties with the EU.
Such a position, President Sisi said, emanates from a firm belief in the centrality of partnership with the bloc in realising common political, economic and security interests as well as in achieving security, peace and stability in the region.
Highlighting the significance of the summit, President Sisi said it comes at an extremely important timing.
The Cairo summit, the Egyptian leader noted in his address, reflected the depth of bilateral relations extending throughout history, as well as the momentum that Egyptian-European ties are witnessing at the political, economic, and cultural levels, on basis of mutual respect and common interests.
Prior to the summit, President Sisi held separate meetings with European leaders, during which he welcomed the promotion of bilateral ties to the level of strategic and comprehensive partnership, which points to an understanding of Egypt’s pivotal role in Euro-Mediterranean context. The move also reflects the historical relations between the two sides as well as common interests.
The separate meetings addressed the economic and investment co-operation, as well as how to formulate specific steps to ensure optimal benefit from the relative advantages of both sides, Spokesman Fahmy said in a statement posted on his Facebook account.
The discussions focused on co-operation in fields of industry localisation, technology transfer, training, energy, mainly energy production of natural gas. They also reviewed how to benefit from the promising opportunities Egypt offers in fields of clean energy and green hydrogen, in addition to many existing co-operation projects that are being studied with Greece, Belgium and Austria.
In addition, the talks covered co-operation between Egypt and Italy in food security, agricultural production, and land reclamation. Cairo and Rome agreed to establish a partnership to transfer advanced technology from Italy to Egypt, aiming to bolster agricultural and food exports from Egypt to Europe, the Spokesman said.
The meetings also reviewed the latest regional developments, mainly the war in Gaza, Fahmy said.
In this connection, President Sisi stressed the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities in pushing for an immediate ceasefire and allowing aid, in sufficient quantities, into Gaza amid the humanitarian catastrophe Gazans are facing.
He also stressed the need to adhere to the path of the two-state solution.
For their part, the European leaders highly appreciated Egypt’s pivotal and tireless efforts aiming to restore security and stability in the region, the spokesman said.
