President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi emphasized on Sunday his country’s keenness on enhancing cooperation and bilateral relations with Latvia, and on continuing coordination between the two countries on political topics of mutual interest primarily illegal immigration and terrorism.
Sisi’s comments came during his meeting in Cairo with Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics, in the presence of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
The Egyptian presidential spokesperson said that Rinkevics stressed his country's keenness on pushing bilateral cooperation forward with Egypt, in light of its crucial role in the Middle East, the Mediterranean region, and Africa,
The interlocutors also reviewed a multitude of issues of common interest.
Sisi welcomed the activities of Latvian companies operating in Egypt, looking forward to more cooperation between the two sides. He said that Latvia enjoys outstanding expertise in the fields of communications, IT, education, and tourism.
The talks also focused on a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern and the challenges facing African and European countries, primarily illegal immigration and terrorism.
“Those necessitate coordination and collaboration between the two sides so as to reach effective solutions for the challenges through a common vision,” the spokesperson said, adding that the two sides also exchanged views with regard to developments in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and its negative impact on the global economy.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister said that during the Latvian Minister’s visit to Cairo, the two sides signed an agreement on amendments to the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Education and Science.
At a joint press conference after their meeting, Shoukry noted that Egypt is looking forward to benefiting from Latvia in the technology and digitization sectors.
He said the discussions touched upon the importance of increasing trade exchange and investments in light of the potential in the Suez Canal area.
The Egyptian minister and his Latvian counterpart also discussed the file of human rights in light of a national strategy outlined for the purpose, and with the help of the EU to build Egypt’s capabilities in this regard.