Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides agreed on Wednesday to launch a joint cooperation forum between the two nations as part strengthening their distinguished bilateral relations.
The two presidents addressed various bilateral and regional topics of mutual interest at press conference following their meeting at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo today.
"We agreed on the importance of preparing well for the second round of the Joint High Committee to achieve significant progress in all aspects of our cooperation, including the energy sector," El-Sisi said.
He added that the discussion included the electricity connection project and the transfer of Cypriot gas to two desalination plants in Egypt, as well as exploring new frameworks for clean and renewable energy projects.
President Christodoulides arrived in Cairo earlier Wednesday where he was received by President El-Sisi.
It is the first visit by the new Cypriot president to a foreign capital since assuming his post in February.
“I greatly appreciate that Egypt is your first regional destination following your election as president of your country, which reflects our joint keenness on the distinguished relations between our two countries and our friendly peoples,” President El-Sisi said in addressing his Cypriot counter at the press conference.
El-Sisi added that the discussions included proceeding with the electricity connection project as well as the transfer of Cypriot gas to two desalination plants in Egypt.
They also included exploring new frameworks for clean and renewable energy projects and ways to boost trade exchange and military cooperation between the two countries, the Egyptian president added.
According to data released by Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Wednesday, the value of Egyptian exports to Cyprus increased to $76 million in 2022, up from $45 million in 2021, an increase of 68.8 percent.
The Egyptian president also commended the valuable contribution of former President Nicos Anastasiades in strengthening the bonds between Egypt and Cyprus over the past ten years.
El-Sisi added that the meeting with Christodoulides provided an ideal opportunity to reaffirm the value of the trilateral partnership between Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece.
The two leaders agreed on the need to prepare in a thorough manner for the upcoming trilateral cooperation summit which Egypt will host later this year, he revealed.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
