Egypt and Italy announced Sunday an agreement on enhancing cooperation in the fight against terrorist and adopting a full-fledged strategy to address root causes of illegal immigration.
This came during the visit of Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi to Cairo on Sunday where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
Both sides agreed to continue cooperation in combating illegal immigration and resolving the Libyan issue through a Libyan-Libyan solution.
Sisi stressed Egypt's firm stance on the Libyan crisis is based on adherence to the territorial integrity of Libya and respecting the will of the Libyan people that will be reflected in the upcoming elections, in addition to backing Libya's national army.
For his part, Milanesi lauded Cairo’s efforts to unite the Libyan military, saying that such a move could help strengthen the capabilities of state institutions and restore security and stability in the North African country.
Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi asserted in a statement Sunday that Sisi affirmed Egypt's eagerness to uncover the circumstances surrounding the death of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni, who was killed in Cairo two years ago.
The two sides also expressed “keenness on recovering the momentum of relations between Egypt and Italy.”
Later, in a joint press conference held with his Egyptian counterpart, the Italian minister described Egypt’s experience in dealing with illegal immigration as “very good.”
He said he and Shoukry discussed combating terrorism, describing it as a phenomenon that has lasted for years and strongly affected Mediterranean countries.
For his part, Shoukry said Italy was an important partner for Egypt, describing the relationship as one that once “faced a challenge”, but said both countries were working on overcoming and boosting relations.
The two sides also discussed economic relations with Italy ranking second in terms of European trade partners with Egypt and fifth largest investor in Egypt, according to an Egyptian foreign ministry statement.
