Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held political consultations with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor in Pretoria as part of the joint committee's proceedings between Egypt and South Africa.
According to a statement released by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Friday, they engaged in discussions encompassing bilateral relations and developments in regional and international affairs pertinent to both nations.
The ministers commended the recent momentum observed in political and economic relations between their countries, as well as the existing level of consultation and coordination on various regional and international issues of mutual concern.
Emphasizing the significance of bolstering coordination, particularly within the African Union framework, they highlighted priorities such as institutional reform, expenditure rationalization, reinforcement of monitoring mechanisms, and the election of the Commission's leadership for the year 2025.
Minister Shoukry underscored Egypt's commitment to its membership in the African Peace and Security Council, stressing the agenda's focus on enhancing peace and security across the continent.
The Egyptian Minister underscored Egypt’s ambition to play an active and influential role within the BRICS group, emphasizing the importance of close cooperation with South Africa to contribute to the group's endeavors in finding practical and implementable solutions to address the challenges faced by member countries. This entails intensifying collaborative efforts within the framework of South-South cooperation and coordinating to enhance the group's capacity to articulate the perspectives of Southern countries, thereby advocating for global economic governance institutions to better address the aspirations and challenges of developing nations.
Furthermore, the ministers affirmed the significance of working together to represent the priorities of developing countries, particularly those in Africa, within the G20. They emphasized the urgent need for the G20 to effectively address the debt crisis, which has impacted more than 37 countries, including 21 African nations.
Also, the two sides discussed various regional and international issues and files of common interest, most notably enhancing stability in the Horn of Africa region, the situation in Libya, and the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the region and the two countries.
They also addressed other issues like the increasing risks of the ongoing tensions in the Red Sea and their serious consequences on the security and safety of international navigation.
Source: Egypt Today
