Sisi meets with president of European Council

CAIRO – 17 September 2018: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met Sunday with visiting President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz, in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Head of the General Intelligence Directorate Abbas Kamel, as well as the head of the EU mission in Cairo and Austria's ambassador in Cairo.

Spokesman for the presidency Bassam Rady said the meeting dealt with consultations on a number of issues of mutual interest including illegal immigration.

Rady explained that Sisi underlined efforts exerted by Egypt to combat illegal immigration by securing sea and land ports, in light of the instability in neighboring countries.

Sisi underscored that Egypt's efforts have contributed to addressing the illegal immigration of refugees across the Mediterranean, as there has not been a single case recorded from Egypt since 2016 until now, Rady said.

The president explained that Egypt hosts millions of refugees of different nationalities on its territory and offer them decent livelihoods without isolating them in refugee camps or shelters, as they enjoy equal treatment with Egyptian citizens in various services provided, Rady added.

Rady pointed out that the president also stressed the need to address the main reasons behind illegal immigration by reaching political solutions to crises in the region and restoring stability and security.

The meeting also tackled a number of other issues, such as the Libyan and Syrian crises, as the both sides have similar views concerning these crises, urging the need to continue to work to reach political settlements for them, in order to eliminate the illegal immigration phenomenon.

The two sides agreed on the need to intensify the Arab-European coordination to face regional challenges and threats, underlining that the proposed EU and Arab countries summit in the coming period serves as an opportunity to consult and exchange views, as well as boosting cooperation between both sides on regional issues.