Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and his spouse Intissar, received Britain’s HRH Prince Charles of Wales and his wife Princess Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at Al Ittihadiya Palace on Thursday.
President Sisi welcomed Prince Charles in Egypt, and sent greetings to Queen Elizabeth II, expressing hopes that the visit would usher in a new stage to further support the bilateral historical relations, considering that such royal visits always remain as landmarks that survive in the Egyptian and British political and popular memory for long, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said.
The meeting discussed a number of issues of common interest, especially those related to countering terrorism and extremist thinking, as President Sisi reiterated Egypt’s solidarity with Britain following the recent Liverpool terror attack, Radi added.
President Sisi stressed the necessity of intensifying co-operation to consolidate values of tolerance, peace, co-existence and acceptance of others, in order to undermine the extremist interpretations adopted by terrorist groups. He also called on the international community to adopt a multi-level strategy to deal with all elements and parties that support terrorist organistions.
Referring to regional issues, President Sisi underscored the importance of supporting the national institutions in countries of the region that are facing crises, with the aim of filling the vacuum that offers terrorism the chance to grow and spread to other parts of the world, Ambassador Radi said. These are determinants that, in their entirety, represent the constants and principles of Egypt’s policy in dealing with regional crises, the president noted.
For his part, the prince of Wales highly expressed gratitude for the warm reception and generous hospitality accorded to him upon arrival in Egypt. He conveyed to President Sisi greetings of Queen Elizabeth II, Radi said. Prince Charles said he was pleased to be in Egypt once again. He added that he was keen to visit the country as part of his first official tour overseas on behalf of the Queen since the eruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also stressed the special relations between the two countries, in addition to Egypt’s pivotal and balanced role in dealing with several global issues under President Sisi, as well as in preserving security and stability in the region.
In the meantime, Prince Charles appreciated Egypt’s efforts over the past years to counter extremist ideas and terrorism. President Sisi referred, in that respect, to a well-established state approach for dealing with freedom of practising religious rituals, and upholding principles of citizenships, equality and non-discrimination among citizens on any religious, sectarian or other grounds, besides boosting a culture of pluralism and acceptance of others, the spokesman said.
