Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met on Monday with British Minister of State for North Africa, South and Central Asia, the Commonwealth, and the United Nations, Lord Tarek Ahmed, during his current visit to London to inaugurate the first participation council between the two countries.
Ambassador Ahmed Hafez, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that Minister Shoukry welcomed the open dialogue between Egypt and the UK on various topics of common interest, as well as the continuation of communication between the two sides.
The two ministers stressed the great importance of the launch of the Egypt-UK Partnership Council, as it contributes to strengthening areas of joint work, especially boosting cooperation in the fields of economy and increasing British investments in Egypt, as well as the rate of trade exchange between them to achieve the interests of the two countries, as well as exploring more opportunities for bilateral cooperation.
Minister Shoukry and the British minister of State also discussed the repercussions of the current global economic crisis and ways of cooperation to mitigate the effects of that crisis.
The British minister of State touched upon the upcoming international conference on freedom of religion or belief, which will be hosted in London on July 5 and 6.
Shoukry stressed Egypt’s active participation in this conference, pointing to Egypt’s achievements and efforts related to promoting freedom of religion and belief, as well as the state’s keenness to uphold the principles of citizenship, equality and non-discrimination between citizens on any basis.
The two ministers exchanged views on a number of their respective concerns related to the human rights situation.
They also exchanged views on all regional and international issues of common interest, including the situation in Libya and the ongoing developments there.
On the other hand, Minister Shoukry and Tarek Ahmed discussed the ongoing preparations for COP27, and the importance of continuing coordination and consultation between the Egyptian and British presidencies in order to achieve the desired successes during the conference scheduled to be held in Egypt next November.
