Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has praised Egypt-Uzbekistan relations as fraternal and historical, noting that Egypt was the first Arab country to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan in 1991, establish diplomatic relations with the country and open an embassy in Tashkent in 1993.
Sisi made the remarks on Tuesday during a joint press conference with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev following their talks at Al-Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo.
President Sisi expressed his appreciation for the Uzbek president’s first visit to Egypt, which comes in response to Sisi’s official visit to Uzbekistan in 2018.
The Egyptian leader said he and his Uzbek counterpart have agreed to swiftly convene the Egyptian-Uzbek joint committee for economic cooperation as soon as possible, as well as to put the agreements signed between the two sides into practice.
He also stressed the importance of security and cyber cooperation on combating extremism.
President Sisi said the Uzbek president’s current visit to Egypt was made to continue talks between both countries in various fields.
He added that joint talks have resulted in the signing of a set of agreements in various fields, including trade, industry, agriculture and tourism.
These agreements will give impetus to bilateral relations, he noted.
President Sisi stressed the importance of working to boost trade between Egypt and Uzbekistan, which he said does not reflect mutual respect, trust and political will towards joint cooperation.
The talks also touched on the continuity of joint cooperation and mutual support in international forums, he said.
In this regard, Sisi expressed thanks and appreciation to Uzbekistan for supporting Egypt in obtaining observer status at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The Egyptian leader added that the two sides agreed on the importance of finding a solution to the Palestinian issue, pointing out to the two-state solution based on the borders of June 4, 1967 with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
He also emphasized the importance of finding a political solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, highlighting its effects on the whole world.
Sisi added that the two sides agreed during the talks on the importance of finding a solution to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)’s issue and encouraging the Ethiopian side to sign a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.
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