A delegation of Egyptian lawmakers, headed by Chief of the Committee for International Affairs Tarek Radwan, discussed during a three-day visit to the European parliament, international and regional issues, including the Palestinian issue.
According to a statement from the delegation issued on Tuesday, they held several meetings with European parliamentarians regarding issues of mutual interest, in addition to the situation in Egypt and the Middle East.
Both Egyptian and European parliamentarians rejected US President Donald Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. They also stressed the necessity of ending the conflict on the basis of a two-state solution.
During their meetings at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Egyptian delegation briefed their European counterparts on Egypt’s efforts in countering terrorism, extremism, illegal immigration, and the status of women and youth in the Egyptian community.
The Egyptian delegation asserted the importance of action from the European side regarding countering terrorism. They also criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “support for terror groups,” and his latest statements before the AKP parliamentary bloc claiming that terrorists are flowing “from Syrian Raqqa to Sinai in Egypt.”
Erdogan said, early this month, that fighters affiliated with the Islamic State group (IS) fled from Raqqa to Sinai in a secret deal with Kurdish forces that are supported by the US.
The Egyptian delegation also reviewed the economic, security, and political challenges that Egypt faces, as well as the progress on human rights issues and democratic transition. Additionally, they reviewed the outcome of the presidential pardon committee.
At the end of the trip, Egyptian parliamentarians invited their European counterparts to visit Egypt. The invitation was welcomed by the European side, which asserted the necessity of continuing dialogue between the two sides, and stressed the importance of Egypt’s pivotal role in countering terrorism, according to the statement.
