New Egyptian-European talks included talk about bilateral cooperation in many fields and arrangements for holding the “second joint summit” next year.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry reported in a statement on Saturday that a phone call took place between its Minister Badr Abdel Aty and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, Kaya Kallas, which touched on “the boom in relations between Egypt and the European Union.”
Abdel Aty stressed the importance of working to attract more European investments to Egypt, facilitating the access of Egyptian exports to European markets, and strengthening private sector partnerships.
The phone call represents “an important indicator of the vitality of Egyptian-European relations, and the keenness of both sides to continue developing the strategic and comprehensive partnership, at a regional and international moment in which challenges are increasing,” according to what former Assistant Foreign Minister, Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy, said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
He stressed, “The success of the Egyptian-European talks requires building on the existing political momentum and transforming strategic understandings into executive programs and measurable mutual interests.”
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement, the Cairo and Brussels talks dealt with “the ongoing arrangements in preparation for the second Egyptian-European summit scheduled to be hosted by Egypt next year.”
According to Hegazy, the second Egyptian-European summit acquires “special political and strategic importance, as it is not just a protocol station to review what has been achieved, but rather an opportunity to re-evaluate the partnership, determine its priorities for the coming years, and establish clear mechanisms to move it to a deeper and more influential level.”
The Egyptian-European talks were not without mentioning the crisis between Tehran and Washington that has been going on since last February and its effects on Cairo “and the efforts made to contain tension and restore calm in light of the military escalation that the region may witness,” according to the Egyptian statement.
On Saturday, the National Council for Human Rights received a delegation from the European Union mission to Cairo, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation and partnership between the two sides, and to discuss a number of issues and topics of common interest in the field of human rights.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi directed “to study the provision of a strategic reserve for the state of all needs, to confront emergency situations,” amid mounting fears of renewed military confrontations between the United States and Iran, and the expansion of the scope of the conflict in the region.
In the latest development on the ground in Sudan, the forces of the “Establishment” coalition, which includes the “Rapid Support Forces” and the “Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North,” said that they took control of the town of Muqja, located in Bau locality in the Blue Nile region, southeast of the country, following confrontations during which they took control of the areas of Sali, Al-Kili, and Bakuri, amid drone attacks on the city of Al-Damazin, the capital of the region.
There was no confirmation from independent sources of the allegations of the “Establishment” coalition, but the regional government acknowledged a change in the locations of deployment and control.
