Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Emirati counterpart Abdallah Ben Zayed Al-Nahian stressed in a joint press conference Sunday in Cairo that there are no developments concerning the issue of Qatar, unless the Qatari government would change its policies.
"One of the challenges before the region is the expansion of extremism and terrorism. One of the platforms of terrorism is Qatar," Ben Zayed said.
The UAE official had attended Joint Economic Committee meetings held in Cairo Saturday, where an Egyptian-Emirati business forum was held on the sidelines, reaching a new partnership between Dubai Ports and the Suez Canal Economic Zone, which will lead to new fields of cooperation, a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
Ben Zayed stressed that relations between the two countries are strengthening, as "Egypt has recovered from the several crises it faced."
He also spoke about challenges threatening the region, especially from Iran, Turkey and Israel, saying that Egypt and Saudi Arabia has a historic responsibility facing these challenges and that the UAE is supporting both countries efforts.
Ben Zayed met earlier Sunday with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi where they discussed strategic bilateral relations as well as several regional issues, Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.
The meeting was also attended by Shoukry, acting head of Egyptian Intelligence Abbas Kamel, and UAE Ambassador to Egypt Jumaa Mubarak Al-Juniby.
Among the challenges highlighted by the two foreign ministers in the press conference was Libya.
Shoukry underlined ongoing Egyptian efforts to support a political solution, combat terrorism, and facilitating elections soon in the country. As part of this, Shoukry said, Egypt is supporting the unification of the Libyan army.
Regarding the situation in Syria, the two ministers underlined the complexity of the Syrian crisis, saying the political path is the only solution, rejecting all recourse to military solutions whether through armed militias or foreign intervention.
Ben Zayed also underlined his country s support for Egyptian efforts regarding inter-Palestinian reconciliation.
During Ben Zayed s meeting with El-Sisi, the latter received a message from his UAE counterpart Sheikh Khalifa Ben Zayed and other UAE top officials expressing their appreciation for the "distinguished ties between the two countries, and their commitment on boosting bilateral cooperation and coordination in areas of common interest".
"El-Sisi affirmed the special nature of Egyptian-Emirati relations and the ongoing discussions on regional challenges. Both sides agreed on the need to stand united and face all threats to the security and stability of Arab states," presidency spokesman Rady said.
The two sides also discussed ways of boosting economic and investment relations, Rady added.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the strongest allies of El-Sisi, and like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia has provided the Egyptian government with billions of dollars in aid to stimulate the country s ailing economy.
El-Sisi last visited Abu Dhabi in February.
Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Emirati counterpart Abdallah Ben Zayed Al-Nahian stressed in a joint press conference Sunday in Cairo that there are no developments concerning the issue of Qatar, unless the Qatari government would change its policies.
"One of the challenges before the region is the expansion of extremism and terrorism. One of the platforms of terrorism is Qatar," Ben Zayed said.
The UAE official had attended Joint Economic Committee meetings held in Cairo Saturday, where an Egyptian-Emirati business forum was held on the sidelines, reaching a new partnership between Dubai Ports and the Suez Canal Economic Zone, which will lead to new fields of cooperation, a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
Ben Zayed stressed that relations between the two countries are strengthening, as "Egypt has recovered from the several crises it faced."
He also spoke about challenges threatening the region, especially from Iran, Turkey and Israel, saying that Egypt and Saudi Arabia has a historic responsibility facing these challenges and that the UAE is supporting both countries efforts.
Ben Zayed met earlier Sunday with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi where they discussed strategic bilateral relations as well as several regional issues, Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.
The meeting was also attended by Shoukry, acting head of Egyptian Intelligence Abbas Kamel, and UAE Ambassador to Egypt Jumaa Mubarak Al-Juniby.
Among the challenges highlighted by the two foreign ministers in the press conference was Libya.
Shoukry underlined ongoing Egyptian efforts to support a political solution, combat terrorism, and facilitating elections soon in the country. As part of this, Shoukry said, Egypt is supporting the unification of the Libyan army.
Regarding the situation in Syria, the two ministers underlined the complexity of the Syrian crisis, saying the political path is the only solution, rejecting all recourse to military solutions whether through armed militias or foreign intervention.
Ben Zayed also underlined his country s support for Egyptian efforts regarding inter-Palestinian reconciliation.
During Ben Zayed s meeting with El-Sisi, the latter received a message from his UAE counterpart Sheikh Khalifa Ben Zayed and other UAE top officials expressing their appreciation for the "distinguished ties between the two countries, and their commitment on boosting bilateral cooperation and coordination in areas of common interest".
"El-Sisi affirmed the special nature of Egyptian-Emirati relations and the ongoing discussions on regional challenges. Both sides agreed on the need to stand united and face all threats to the security and stability of Arab states," presidency spokesman Rady said.
The two sides also discussed ways of boosting economic and investment relations, Rady added.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the strongest allies of El-Sisi, and like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia has provided the Egyptian government with billions of dollars in aid to stimulate the country s ailing economy.
El-Sisi last visited Abu Dhabi in February.
