President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi assured Italy s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte that Egypt is working to uncover the truth behind the 2016 murder of an Italian student and to bring his killers to justice, an Egyptian presidency spokesman said.
Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old student who was doing postgraduate research on the Egyptian labour movement, disappeared on 25 January 2016, the fifth anniversary of the 2011 revolution. He was found dead 10 days later in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo. Egyptian investigators said his body bore signs of torture.
The meeting between the two leaders in the French town of Biarritz on Saturday "touched on joint cooperation between the two sides in ongoing investigations into the killing of Italian student Regeni," spokesman Basam Rady said in a statement.
El-Sisi reiterated Cairo s "continued efforts to uncover the circumstances of the case, to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice," he added.
The pair were meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit.
Egyptian and Italian authorities have been cooperating in the investigation, holding regular meetings in Cairo and Rome.
Egyptian authorities have repeatedly denied any involvement in Regeni’s killing.
In November 2018, Italy’s foreign minister summoned Egypt’s ambassador to Italy to urge Cairo to act rapidly to bring to justice those responsible for the murder of Regeni.
During Saturday s meeting, the pair also discussed challenges in the Mediterranean region, including efforts to combat terrorism and illegal migration, the statement said. They also looked at ways to boost investment and trade ties between the two countries.
