The Prime Minister confirms to the President of the Republic of Estonia Egypt’s keenness to strengthen bilateral relations

Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, received Alar Kares, President of the Republic of Estonia, and his accompanying delegation, at the Council of Ministers headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, where they held a discussion session on a number of issues and files of common interest.

The discussions were attended by Engineer Hassan Al-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Ambassador Wael Hamed, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs, Ambassador Mohamed Ghoneim, Egyptian Ambassador to Finland and a non-resident of Estonia, Mrs. Ingrid Ammer, Ambassador of Estonia to Egypt, and Sandra Saraf-Tamos, Deputy The Minister of Economy and Innovation, and a number of officials from the Estonian Presidency.

At the beginning of the discussions session, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly welcomed the Estonian President to the New Administrative Capital during his first official visit to Egypt at the bilateral level, noting Egypt’s appreciation for his previous visit in the context of heading his country’s delegation during the “COP 27” conference hosted by Egypt in 2022.

The Prime Minister indicated that the kindness of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, to receive the Estonian President reflects our keenness to strengthen bilateral relations and develop joint cooperation with the Republic of Estonia.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly stressed the Egyptian side’s keenness to strengthen bilateral relations with the Republic of Estonia in various fields, especially the economic, trade and investment fields, in a way that contributes to achieving the common benefit of our two friendly peoples.

In this context, the Prime Minister expressed his aspiration to increase the rates of trade exchange between Egypt and Estonia, welcoming the Estonian President to accompany an economic delegation, which reflects the Estonian side’s keenness to strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries.

He also stressed Egypt’s interest in strengthening the partnership with Estonia in the field of digital transformation, and building on the successful visit of Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, to Estonia in 2021, where he called on the Estonian side to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of building Egyptian human and institutional capabilities in the fields of information technology and digital transformation. , artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, by transferring Estonian expertise and providing scholarships and training programs for distinguished Egyptian cadres in those fields.

The Prime Minister praised the level of cooperation existing between the two countries in the field of tourism, expressing his aspiration for Egypt to receive more Estonian tourism coming to Egyptian destinations, noting in this regard that Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh are the main destinations for tourists coming from Estonia.

Dr. Mostafa Madbouly indicated that Egypt is counting, in light of the friendly relations between the two countries, on Estonia’s continued support for the path of upgrading relations between Egypt and the European Union, especially after the signing of the strategic partnership agreement with the European Union, in light of the negative repercussions the Egyptian economy is facing as a result of The turbulent geopolitical situation in the Middle East, in reference to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

The Prime Minister said in this regard: Our economy has been exposed to negative repercussions in an unprecedented manner, as Suez Canal revenues are witnessing a noticeable decline, so we look forward to continued European support for the Egyptian state to help it confront such challenges.

In turn, Mr. Alar Kares, President of the Republic of Estonia, expressed his happiness with this important visit to Egypt, and his arrival to the New Administrative Capital, which represents an impressive achievement that was built in record time, indicating that relations between Egypt and Estonia are witnessing great momentum at various levels, Adding: Yesterday, we held fruitful discussions with His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi about the necessity of strengthening this cooperation in order to achieve the common interest of the two countries.

He added: I came today accompanied by a large delegation of Estonian businessmen and companies in various sectors, who wish to establish partnerships with the Egyptian side, noting that his country enjoys a great competitive advantage in the field of communications, information technology and digitization, and that it seeks to enhance cooperation with Egypt in this field, as well as He looks forward to more cooperation in the field of tourism, especially since Egypt ranks fourth on the list of Estonian citizens’ favorite tourist destinations.

The President of the Republic of Estonia praised the Egyptian state’s ability to establish the Grand Egyptian Museum. He also reviewed the possibility of cooperation between Egypt and Estonia in exchanging experiences in the field of education.

During the meeting, the President of the Republic of Estonia and the Prime Minister reviewed the negative effects left by crises and wars, whether at the international or regional level, especially the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, stressing that the world paid heavy prices as a result of these wars, in addition to the fact that they caused many to seek refuge in neighboring countries. Which added additional burdens to the economies of these countries.

During the discussions session, Mrs. Sandra Saraf-Tamos, Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation, who headed the delegation of Estonian businessmen currently visiting Egypt, indicated holding a meeting with the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, to discuss ways to enhance investment partnerships between Egyptian and Estonian companies.

She explained that the delegation of Estonian companies includes companies working in the field of financial technology and mining, adding: We have many Estonian companies operating in Egypt, and many Estonian companies also came with us looking to work with Egyptian partners.

In turn, Engineer Hassan Al-Khatib said that the meeting with the Estonian delegation focused on enhancing cooperation and exploiting available investment opportunities in the areas of: education, digitization, transportation, and tourism, noting that he knows that the main destination of Estonian tourists is Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh, but there are many Tourist destinations that can be enjoyed, especially with the trial operation of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Here, the Prime Minister confirmed that the Grand Egyptian Museum is indeed a giant edifice overlooking a wonderful view of the pyramids, noting that over the past period he has held meetings and gatherings at the Grand Egyptian Museum, the most recent of which was an interview he conducted with Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva, Director General of the International Monetary Fund, As well as attending a round table with African housing ministers, during one of the activities of the World Urban Forum currently hosted by Cairo, where those who attended these meetings expressed their great admiration for the Grand Egyptian Museum and its wonderful location near the Giza Pyramids.

At the conclusion of the discussions session, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly expressed his aspiration to exploit the current momentum in Egyptian-Estonian relations and accelerate the pace of work in order to take further executive measures to push these relations to broader levels.