France Prime Minister Jean Castex expressed to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi his country’s keenness to boosts its investments in Egypt. This came during a meeting in the French capital Paris on the sidelines of Al-Sisi’s visit to western European country.
During the meeting, Al-Sisi discussed bilateral relations and cooperation in the fields of major development projects, energy, transportation, education, health, culture, and tourism, as well as the military and security.
The French PM said that it is essential to support the Egyptian developmental efforts under Al-Sisi to consolidate the role Egypt is playing as a balancing force in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, according to a statement released by the Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady.
Al-Sisi expressed Egypt’s keenness to improve French-Egyptian relations especially through increasing the volume of French investments in Egypt.
“France is one of Egypt’s most important partners in Europe given the great current opportunity to benefit from Egypt’s new infrastructure and improved business climate, which was reflected in Egypt’s economic performance during the coronavirus pandemic,” Al-Sisi added.
The Egyptian president highlighted the country’s success in achieving the highest GDP growth rate in the Middle East and Africa, and the second-highest growth rate in the world.
Egypt’s President Al-Sisi arrived in the French capital on Sunday, and has met with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to discuss bilateral ties and the connection between France and the Muslim world. He also met several French officials including the ministers of defence and foreign affairs.
During the conference, Macron described Al-Sisi as “an important partner in combating terrorism,” and praised the recent release of some civil society activists who had been in detention.
The French President said that he had discussed the issue of human rights in Egypt with President Al-Sisi. He noted that despite being a “lawyer of democratic liberality,” he rejects imposing any political or economic conditions on Egypt due to the human rights issue.
Moreover, President Al-Sisi rejected the description given to Egypt that it is an autocratic state ruled by oppression, and denied the presence of any political prisoners in the country.
