President El-Sisi Receives Spain’s Prime Minister

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Prime Minister of Spain, Mr. Pedro Sánchez, at Al-Ittihadiya Palace.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency stated that the meeting discussed bilateral talks, followed by expanded discussions in the presence of the delegations of the two countries. The President welcomed Spain’s Prime Minister whose visit has reflected the two sides’ commitment to expand the robust Egypt-Spain relations broadened with the Mediterranean countries, particularly after the momentum seen in these relations following the President’s visit to Spain in 2015.

According to the Spokesman, the President stressed Egypt’s keenness to continue close coordination and promote joint cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic and trade fields, for the benefit of the two friendly countries and peoples.

For his part, the Spanish Prime Minister expressed his pleasure at visiting Egypt and his appreciation for the warm welcome he received, confirming the deep friendship and historical ties between the two countries. Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez also expressed his country's aspiration to improve bilateral cooperation with Egypt in all fields, especially in light of Egypt’s pivotal role in laying the foundations for ensuring security and stability in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

Mr. Sánchez highlighted Egypt’s vital role, under the leadership of the President, in combating the phenomenon of illegal immigration across the Mediterranean and terrorism and extremist ideology. He further emphasized the role played by Egypt in spreading the culture of tolerance, coexistence and respect for freedom of religion. These efforts reinforce Egypt's pivotal and important role that is supportive to Europe's relations with the Arab region, the African continent, and the southern Mediterranean.

The Spokesman stated that the talks between the two sides touched on ways to enhance bilateral relations between Egypt and Spain. In this context, they agreed on establishing a joint ministerial committee whose meetings would be held periodically and hosted alternately between the two countries.

In this regard, they also discussed the launch of the joint "Egyptian-Spanish Business Council" on the sidelines of the current visit. The aim is to deepen relations and promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two countries.

This forum would serve as a platform for discussing means of strengthening cooperation in a number of bilateral areas of common interest, such as infrastructure, energy, water treatment, tourism, transport sector in Egypt, and health care, particularly in collecting and manufacturing plasma derivatives, combating the coronavirus, and manufacturing the vaccines.

President El-Sisi expressed his gratitude for the shipment of 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Egypt by the Spanish government.

The President also presented Egypt’s efforts towards development through various national initiatives and projects. His Excellency expressed that he was looking forward to seeing more Spanish involvement, through the mechanisms of its various development institutions, in the priority development plans in Egypt across different fields.

He further expressed intent to double the volume of Spanish investments in Egypt and promote economic cooperation between the two countries. This comes particularly in light of the reforms made by the Egyptian government to improve the legislative environment pertaining to the investment and business climate in Egypt and the promising opportunities available in mega projects.

Mr. Sánchez affirmed Spain's keenness to support the ambitious measures taken by Egypt in its effort to advance its economy and achieve comprehensive development, largely through increasing investments, transferring expertise and technology, and localizing the Spanish industry. The Spanish Prime Minister lauded Egypt’s remarkable positive economic indicators, proving the solidity of the Egyptian economy despite the global economic of the coronavirus.

The Spokesman added that the talks covered the repercussions of the phenomenon of illegal immigration and the flow of refugees; both sides stressed the importance of dealing with these issues from comprehensive perspective that includes addressing the political, economic, and social conditions that spurred its increase during the past period. Furthering concerted international efforts to reach settlements for regional crises was also underpinned. The Egyptian-European cooperation was also accentuated for it represents a common interest that adds to the distinguished relationship between the two sides as Egypt hosts millions of refugees. Furthermore, Egypt has made efforts to control its coasts, which has ultimately resulted in the absence of any case of illegal immigration since 2016.

The latest regional developments in situations of mutual interest were also discussed, namely the developments of the Libyan file. Mr. Sánchez was keen to commend Egypt’s efforts in addressing the various dimensions of the case, under the wise leadership of President El-Sisi. The Spanish Prime Minister stressed Spain's keenness to continue intensive cooperation and coordination between the two countries in this key file toward reaching a comprehensive political settlement to the crisis.