President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said Sunday that Egypt welcomes intensified cooperation with Malaysia at all international gatherings.
In a meeting with visiting Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, the president also stressed keenness on boosting economic, trade and investment cooperation with Kuala Lumpur.
This, Sisi said, is part of Egypt’s policy of openness to joint cooperation, construction and development with all world countries and for the best interest of all peoples.
Sisi asked Hishammuddin to convey his best regards to Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, said presidential spokesman Bassam Rady.
For his part, Hishammuddin conveyed best regards of Muhyiddin to Sisi and stressed that his country is keen on boosting bilateral ties with Egypt in all fields and at international gatherings.
The meeting also took up regional and international issues of mutual concern, with focus on the fight against terrorism, Rady said.
Hishammuddin praised Egypt’s efforts to counter terrorism at the internal and regional levels and refute their extremist ideologies. He also appreciated the leading role played by Al Azhar in this regard.
For his part, the top Malaysian diplomat described as “historical” his meeting with Shoukry and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi earlier in the day.
Hussein said his visit to Egypt reflects the success of relations between the two countries and paves the way for more economic cooperation, particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
He pointed out that an agreement was reached to assign senior officials with preparing the agenda of the joint committee that was supposed to be held in 2008 and holding a business forum soon.
Hussein voiced his country’s desire to take part in the great projects being established in Egypt.
He also thanked Egypt for vaccinating Malaysian students against Covid-19 and for its efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
The Malaysian foreign minister also lauded Egypt’s intelligence capabilities, urging more efforts to combat terrorism.
Meanwhile, Shoukry said that both Egypt and Malaysia see eye to eye on the Palestinian cause and other international issues of mutual concern, such as Covid-19, disarmament and stability at the regional and international levels.
He added that his talks with Hussein tackled the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and mutual coordination to combat terrorism.
The Malaysian foreign minister’s visit to Egypt reflects a strong political will to strengthen bilateral ties between both countries, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Sunday.
Shoukry was speaking to journalists during a joint press conference with Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin Hussein following their talks at Tahrir Palace in Cairo earlier today.
The talks, held few days after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s call with Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin via videoconferencing, covered ways to promote mutual cooperation on various regional as well as international issues of common interest, Shoukry said.
The ministers have also agreed to activate cooperation mechanisms, including regular meetings of the joint economic committee and exchanged businessmen visits to explore cooperation opportunities.
Commending Malaysia’s development experience, Shoukry also briefed the Malaysian official on the government’s economic reforms and mega development projects over the past few years.
Meanwhile, Hussein stressed that his current visit offers a great opportunity to build on the good ties between both countries, voicing his country’s willingness to playing a role in major development projects in Egypt, the gateway to Africa.
Our talks also focused how to deal Covid-19 challenges, the Malaysian foreign minister said during the presser, voicing appreciation of Egypt’s decision to vaccinate Malaysian students in Egypt to enable them to return to their country.
Discussing the situation in Palestine, Hussein applauded Egypt’s successful efforts to reach and maintain a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as its endeavors to revive the Middle East peace process.
Responding to a question about the level of coordination within the framework of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as far as the Palestinian issue is concerned, Shoukry said that both countries share the same vision on that score.
Shoukry also highlighted the shared positions adopted by both nations on multiple other issues of mutual concern, including the coronavirus pandemic, disarmament, as well as combating terrorism and extremist ideologies.