Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty discussed with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly the strong bilateral relations between Egypt and Canada as they are getting ready to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
This came during a meeting they held on the sidelines of the high-level segment of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a statement by the foreign ministry.
They also discussed ways to boost all aspects of cooperation at all levels, most notably in economic domains, along with continuing to support the growth of trade exchange, with Abdelatty shedding light on the Egyptian state’s economic development efforts and stressing the need to encourage Canadian investors to benefit from the promising opportunities in the Egyptian market, the favorable economic climate in Egypt and the internationally recognized structural reform measures Egypt has taken, in addition to investment incentives it is offering.
The ministers agreed on the need for giving a stronger momentum to relations and pushing them to broader horizons, as well as working to continue to foster cooperation and coordination in various fields.
They both stressed the importance of working to facilitate trade and tourism movement and increase academic and scientific cooperation between the two countries’ universities.
Figuring high during the talks was the step of cancelling measures obligating Canadian citizens to apply for an advance visa before traveling to Egypt, which the Egyptian minister expects to be announced soon.
The top Egyptian diplomat underlined the importance of building on the shared desire to develop bilateral cooperation and assisting Egyptian-Canadian citizens to connect with their motherland while continuing to work to overcome any hurdles hindering this.
The meeting witnessed discussions over regional developments and international issues of mutual concern as well as related challenges.
The Canadian minister was keen to listen to Abdelatty’s explanation of the Egyptian position on the whole situation in the region, most notably the raging Israeli war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. During the talks, the Egyptian minister highlighted the strenuous and sincere efforts exerted by Egypt to immediately stop the Israeli aggression and bring an end to the Israeli occupation, in addition to guaranteeing the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to the suffering Palestinians, and working to establish a Palestinian state on the entire Palestinian lands.
The two top diplomats’ talks also tackled the crisis in Sudan and the unjustified Israeli military escalations against Lebanon.
