(AFP Photo)
Nabil Fahmy focussed on strengthening political and economic ties between Egypt and the United Kingdom during his meetings with government officials in London.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague met with Fahmy on Wednesday afternoon to discuss bilateral relations and the developments in Egypt’s domestic politics. Ahead of the meeting Fahmy said that he and Hague would “conduct a round of informal consultations” to discuss “regional and international issues of common interest as well as addressing the issue of terrorism”.
Hague, posting on his social media account, said that he and Fahmy would “talk about the future of [Egypt] and maintaining a democratic transition”.
The UK government announced in April that it would be launching a “review of the Muslim Brotherhood”, which has been declared a terrorist organisation in Egypt. The review is to look at “the philosophy, activities, impact and influence on UK national interests, at home and abroad, of the Muslim Brotherhood and of [UK] government policy towards the organisation”. The UK government is accepting evidence from “interested parties” until 30 May to contribute to the review.
While the UK has not followed Egypt in declaring the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation, it did list Sinai based militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis as such. Egypt declared the group a terrorist organisation two weeks later.
In the presence of representatives from British companies, such as Shell, British Petroleum, Vodafone, British Gas and Barclays bank, Fahmy met with Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa Hugh Robertson to discuss ways of attracting investments to Egypt. During the meeting Fahmy highlighted “the improved security situation and its impact on investment and tourism”. The meeting also touched on Egypt’s energy crisis and “ways to address them by providing alternative solutions to prevent the aggravation of the crisis” and Egypt’s new investment law to help facilitate the injection of foreign capital into the Egyptian economy.
Fahmy also met with UK opposition Minister for Africa and the Middle East Ian Lucas earlier on Wednesday. The pair discussed the issue of terrorism and “ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the face of this global phenomenon”, said the Egyptian foreign ministry, adding that they also talked about regional issues, including the Syrian conflict, Middle East Peace and security issues in Libya and South Sudan.
