Klimkin discusses intensification of trade and economic relations with Egypt

"The visit was a logical continuation of the agreements reached by the heads of the foreign ministries during their latest meeting in New York in September 2017, which took place against the backdrop of positive changes in the bilateral dialogue," the ministry said.

In particular, the visit began with Klimkin's meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, during which priority attention was paid to the ways of intensifying cooperation in the field of trade and economic relations, in particular, the prospects for participation of Ukrainian companies in large-scale projects in Egypt. The sides also noted a revival of contacts between ministries and business circles of both states, in particular in the context of the recent visit to Ukraine by Minister of Public Sector Affairs of Egypt Khaled Badawy.

During the talks between Klimkin and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry the sides emphasized the importance of maintaining an active dialogue at the level of the foreign ministries, cooperation in trade, economic, educational, cultural spheres, and other sectors. Separately, the sides discussed the state and prospects of the activity of the joint intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, and spoke in favor of finding new modalities for its activities.

The ministers also expressed their readiness for active cooperation as part of international organizations and exchanged views on the global and regional agenda of international relations.

"The fight against terrorism was separately discussed. Klimkin stressed the need to join the efforts of the international community in this area and expressed support for the leadership of the Egyptian state in eradicating its manifestations in its own territory," the Foreign Ministry reported.

The ministers also noted the mutual interest of the parties in implementing significant potential for cooperation in the tourism industry.

During talks with Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives Ali Abdel Aal, the sides stressed the need to intensify inter-parliamentary cooperation. Klimkin noted the establishment in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Egypt-Ukraine friendship group. In this regard, the Speaker of the House of Representatives said that in order to establish direct contacts between parliamentarians, a similar group would be set up in the Egyptian parliament in the near future.

At a meeting between Klimkin and Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the parties expressed their interest in intensifying contacts between the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the Arab League. The sides also discussed topical issues of the regional agenda, the fight against terrorism and prospects for the development of the situation in the Middle East and North Africa.

Klimkin also met with representatives of the Ukrainian community in Egypt and told them about cooperation between the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the Ukrainian diaspora in order to meet the cultural and spiritual needs of Ukrainians abroad.

During his stay in Egypt, Klimkin met with Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros II, during which the issue of the creation of a single local church in Ukraine was raised.

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