Speech by President El-Sisi During Joint Press Conference with Tunisia’s President

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,
My Dear Brother, Your Excellency President Kais Saied,
President of the Sisterly Republic of Tunisia,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome my brother His Excellency President Kais Saied on his first official visit to his second country, Egypt, wishing him a good and fruitful stay.

I take this opportunity to express our profound appreciation for the deep historical ties among Egypt, Tunisia and their brotherly peoples.

I have held intensive and constructive discussions with my brother, the President, during which we touched on a large number of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest between the two countries. These discussions reflected our common will towards strengthening the distinguished relations between our two countries and extending them to broader horizons in various fields. This will be done through activating cooperation frameworks and mechanisms of consultation and coordination between the two countries at all levels, pertaining to bilateral issues or regional and international issues of common interest. This would contribute to promoting rapprochement between the two countries and the two brotherly peoples.

The common challenges facing Egypt and Tunisia must be taken into consideration, foremost among which are achieving comprehensive development, countering negative regional interference in the region, preventing the undermining of the national state, and combating terrorism and extremist ideology.

Our deliberations reflected how close the views of the two countries are on all issues. Efforts made to enhance cooperation in economic fields between the two countries also received special attention in our discussions. For my part, I affirmed Egypt's readiness to develop this cooperation to achieve development goals in the two countries, whether at the level of trade exchange or investment. We hope this cooperation would rise to the level of the distinguished political relations between us.

We also discussed ways to improve all aspects of cultural cooperation between the two countries, thus contributing to the promotion of rapprochement between the two brotherly peoples. It was stressed that culture has an important role in addressing the dangers of ideological extremism facing the countries of the region. We agreed to declare 2021-2022 as the Year of Egyptian-Tunisian Culture by activating joint cultural and artistic activities in all aspects in both Egypt and Tunisia, hence reflecting the common history between the two peoples and the existing level of communication and interaction between them.

The importance of strengthening cooperation in the field of combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations was emphasized alongside calling on the international community to adopt a comprehensive approach to address this phenomenon in its various security, economic, social, and development, as well as intellectual and ideological dimensions. This would also be achieved by confronting all terrorist organizations without exception, undermining their ability to attract or recruit new elements and drying up their sources of funding, in addition to highlighting the importance of confronting extremist ideology that poses a threat to the region and its peoples.

We also discussed the issues of the Arab region, stressing the importance of supporting joint Arab action, preserving the Arab national security, and protecting the territorial integrity, safety, and independence of the Arab countries. We further agreed on the importance of promoting the concept of the national state and rejecting all attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Arab countries.

We also highlighted the importance of continuing the Arab efforts to support the Palestinian cause, since it is a central issue for the Arab World. In this context, we affirmed the necessity of exerting efforts to implement a two-state solution and establish an independent Palestinian state along the lines of June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.

My brother President Kais Saied and I discussed the developments of the Libyan crisis and emphasized the importance of activating the Arab role in the face of this crisis. We also welcomed the recent conclusions of the formation of the executive authority in Libya.

Furthermore, we affirmed our readiness to provide all forms of support to Libya in order to be able to fulfill its role in managing the transitional phase, to hold elections as scheduled at the end of year, and to end foreign interference and make sure all foreign armed forces, mercenaries, fighters, and foreign terrorists leave Libya. With that, Libya would gain its full and desired stability and preserve its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the brotherly Libyan people's capabilities.

The issue of the Egyptian water security was addressed for being a part of the Arab national security. We emphasized the need to preserve the Egyptian water rights as a fateful issue. For his part, my brother, President Saied, valued the efforts exerted by Egypt to reach a fair and comprehensive agreement regarding the rules for the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

We discussed prospects for joint action in the African continent and ways to support the African action in the light of the pivotal role played by Egypt and Tunisia in this regard.

Your Excellency, President Kais Saied,

It gives me pleasure to meet you today. We also appreciated Tunisia’s role as an Arab member in the Security Council and its efforts to support the Arab causes. I look forward to more close cooperation between our two countries for the common interest of us and our Arab nation.

I wish Tunisia and its brotherly people all the best, stability, and prosperity; I renew my welcome to you in your second country, Egypt.

Thank You.