Egypt and the USAID signed on Tuesday an agreement for an additional $6 million for the North Sinai development initiative, bringing the total in the bilateral assistance programme to the governorate to $56 million. The agreement was signed by Egypt s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and the USAID Mission Director in Egypt Sherry Carlin, in attendance of the US Ambassador in Egypt Jonathan Cohen.

A project to establish Japanese-style schools in Egypt is of a great importance for building Egyptian citizens, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said on Sunday. Sisi made his remarks during a meeting with a group of Japanese experts who are expected to supervise the Japanese education system in Egypt. Shedding light on the Japanese system s focus on honing students personal as well as academic abilities and promoting the teamwork concept, Sisi commended the experts enthusiasm for contributing to such a mega national project. Meanwhile, the experts expressed their pleasure to meet President Sisi in Sharm El Sheikh, the venue of the 3rd edition of the World Youth Forum, which kicked off on Saturday. They noted that their participation in Egypt s educational reform project is based on their appreciation of the country s cultural legacy and ancient history and the state s keen willingness to adhere to the best standards while working on this project, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said. The meeting tackled the experts action plan and proposed timeline for setting up and implementing a clear-cut plan to apply the Japanese education system in Egypt, including teachers training and curriculum development in cooperation with the education and technical education ministry, Rady noted. The project, which aims to create 100 such schools, was agreed on during Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi s visit to Japan in February 2016. Under a cooperation protocol signed between Egypt and Japan in 2017, Japan is providing the necessary technical support for the project.

The second day of the third edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF) kicked off in Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday, with the participation of Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. The second day of the forum, which is attended by international dignitaries and hundreds of youth from around the world, started with a roundtable on current challenges to international peace and security. Egypt s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, and Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Yousef Bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen are keynote speakers in the session. A documentary film about terrorism threats, illegal immigration, and terrorist entities was screened during the opening of the session. The current edition of the WYF, which kicked off Saturday, is scheduled to discuss a number of key topics, including the fourth industrial revolution, food security, the Union for the Mediterranean, and environmental challenges. Topics like artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, women’s empowerment, and the arts and cinema are also on the forum’s agenda.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended the opening session of the second day of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development on Thursday. The first session of the day kicked off under the title of "To enhance the role of African women to achieve peace, security and development." The second day of the forum will include sessions on advancing African women’s contribution to peace, security and development, a roundtable discussion on supporting the transition process in Sudan, and a session on forced displacement and mixed migration in Africa. The forum aims at enhancing sustainable peace and development in the African continent in light of Egypt s presidency to the African Union. The forum, which is held in Aswan 11-12 December, is attended by a number of African leaders and representatives from various western countries. In his opening remarks at the forum on Wednesday, El-Sisi urged African leaders to unite for peace and stability. A number of African heads of state stressed in their speeches the need to confront the threat terrorist groups pose to peace and development in the continent.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has called on African leaders to exercise their responsibility in acting on climate change and to unite efforts to face challenges to establishing stability and peace in the continent. El-Sisi s comments came during the opening of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, which is taking place in Aswan, Upper Egypt 11-12 December. In a speech broadcast live on TV on Wednesday, El-Sisi urged African countries to join all efforts to overcome major problems facing Africa, mainly combating terrorism and associated phenomena of arms and human trafficking, illegal migration and increasing organised crimes. The Egyptian president, who curently holds the rotating presidency of the 55-national African Union, also called on fellow heads of state to take more decisive action to tackle climate change "We all shall act with responsibility on the negative implications of climate change which have exacerbated desertification and scarcity of water and natural resources," El-Sisi said African countries have made progress on achieving development and bringing stability in the region, El-sisi says, citing the adoption of 2063 African development agenda, and the initiative for a conflict-free continent by 2020 called Silencing the Guns by 2020 . More to follow

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have agreed to reconvene in Washington on 13 January to resolve a dispute over a giant dam project Ethiopia is building on the Nile River, the US Treasury said in a joint statement. Foreign ministers and water ministers from the three African countries held talks with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass in Washington on Monday to iron out differences over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Following the talks, the officials said that progress had been made in earlier meetings held between the water ministers of the three countries in Cairo and Addis Ababa, according to the statement. The meetings were part of a roadmap agreed upon during talks last month in Washington that set a 15 January target for resolving the dispute. Two more technical meetings are scheduled to take place in the presence of World Bank and US observers in coming weeks focused on drawing up technical rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the dam. "The Ministers agreed that the strategic direction of the next two technical meetings should be the development of technical rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the definition of drought conditions, and drought mitigation measures to be taken", the statement said. The talks will also work on water release rates from the dam’s reservoir, it added. “The implementation of these technical rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the GERD will be undertaken by Ethiopia, and may be adjusted by the three countries, in accordance with the hydrological conditions in the given year,” the joint statement said. Cairo fears the massive $4 billion upstream project on Ethiopia s section of the river would drastically cut its water supply from the Nile, which provides 90 percent of Egypt s drinking water. Ethiopia says the hydroelectric dam, which is about 70 percent complete, is central to its economic development and its plan to be a regional power hub. The foreign ministers will reconvene in Washington on 13 January to review the results of the upcoming technical meetings, which will be held in Khartoum and Addis Ababa, the statement said.

Egypt s Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport has topped the list of the fastest-growing major airports in Africa by capacity, a new study by Routesonline has found, as airlines continue to return to the Egyptian Red Sea resort. The latest figures revealed that the airport, which is the third busiest in Egypt, has increased its capacity by 28.9 percent in 2019 to 1.49 million available departure seats, compared to 1.16 million departure seats in 2018. Number three on the top 10 list is Hurghada airport, which recorded a growth rate of 11.9 percent in 2019. At number two is the international airport in Marrakech, western Morocco. A total of 3.91 million departure seats are on offer this year at Marrakech airport, with a rise of 22.6 percent from the previous 12 months, the study said. Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport’s growth comes as the destination continues to recover from the slump in tourism that followed the crash of Metrojet flight 9268 in the Sinai desert after take-off from Sharm El-Sheikh airport on 31 October 2015. All 224 passengers and crew on the charter flight to St Petersburg died, according to the study. Since the crash, which was likely caused by a bomb on board the Airbus A321 aircraft, security procedures have been tightened at the Egyptian airport. In October 2019, the UK government lifted its four-year ban on air travel to the Red Sea resort, paving the way for direct air services to resume. Routesonline is focused entirely on aviation route development and the company s portfolio includes events, media and online businesses. The company organises and operates world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and World Route Development Forums. They are held in key markets throughout the year in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Top 10 fastest-growing airports in Africa by departure seats (2018 vs 2019): Routesonline

The relocation plan to the New Administrative Capital should not be a mere geographic change, rather a plan to build an efficient modern administrative system, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Saturday. El-Sisi was chairing a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform Hala El-Saeed and President of the Central Agency for Organization and Administration (CAOA) Saleh El-Sheikh. The meeting tackled the latest developments in implementing an executive plan to relocate ministries and government bodies to the new capital, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said. It also addressed the corporate development program and an investment plan related to the government relocation project, Rady added. The move must live up to citizens expectations, El-Sisi said during the meetings, noting that it will help attain the state s development goals. It is also envisioned to represent a quantum leap in the future of administrative work, the president said. El-Saeed briefed the president on the ministry s efforts to count and update the job files of public servants to select those who are well qualified for relocation. She also reviewed the ministry s plans to improve the efficiency of relocated cadres, the spokesman noted. The 700 square kilometre capital, launched in 2015 by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, will house more than 6.5 million people. The first phase of the New Administrative Capital comprises a government district, residential neighbourhoods, and a business district. The government is planning to relocate ministries to the new capital by mid-2020.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian criticized on Wednesday two memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed last week between Libya’s National Accord Government and Turkey delimiting maritime borders in the Mediterranean and covering military and security cooperation between both sides. In a phone call between them, the two top diplomats said the deals contravene international law and a UN arms embargo on Libya. They both stressed the importance of reaching a comprehensive political settlement for the Libyan crisis, supporting the Libyan state’s institutions and elected parliament and helping Libya in its efforts to eradicate terrorism, end the military conflict and set the stage for holding free elections. The ministers also discussed Egypt-France cooperation and solid relationship, agreeing on the importance of maintaining consultation and coordination to further promote ties especially in the economic, trade and investment fields. Shoukry offered his condolences to France for the loss of 13 of its soldiers in a tragic helicopter accident in Mali and reviewed with Le Drian the latest developments in the Middle East region and most particularly conditions in Libya. The French minister invited Shoukry to visit France in the next few weeks for more bilateral talks and they both agreed that the visit should take place next month.

Egypt s irrigation ministry has dismissed reports that a joint statement was issued after the end of the final day of trilateral talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Cairo. “The meetings concluded with an agreement to continue consultations and technical discussions on controversial issues during the third meeting, scheduled to be held in Khartoum on 21-22 December,” the statement read. "The ministry said it is also looking forward to continuing negotiations at the upcoming meeting scheduled in Washington on 9 December, as well as subsequent meetings," the statement added. The two-day Cairo talks discussed the outcomes of the first meeting held in Addis Ababa on 15-16 November, in an attempt to bridge the gaps between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan and to reach a consensus on the rules of filling and operation of the GERD, according to the statement. The statement added that the Egyptian side aspires to reach a fair agreement, to coordinate between the operation of the GERD and the Aswan High Dam. The Cairo-hosted talks are the second of four rounds of talks being held in accordance with an agreement reached in a US-brokered meeting between the three parties in Washington in November, which saw the attendance of representatives of the US government and the World Bank and aimed to break a deadlock in negotiations. The timeframe for filling and operating the dam is one of the main obstacles in the negotiations. The three countries have tabled different proposals on the duration of filling the GERD’s reservoir. Egypt’s proposal calls for a relatively extended filling period. Ethiopia began building the mega-dam in 2011, in a bid to provide electricity to more than half of its population and to become the continent s biggest power exporter. Egypt, however, fears that the filling the Ethiopian dam will adversely diminish its share of Nile water, which the country depends on.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has praised the achievements of the leaders of the United Arab Emirates as the Gulf country celebrates its national day, which marks the 48th anniversary of its founding. "It is a day when the people of the country united with their leadership for a better future for the UAE, full of achievements, progress and prosperity," El-Sisi said on Twitter on Monday. The president was referring to 1971, when the seven gulf emirates united to form the UAE after they gained full independence from Britain. El-Sisi called Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday to express his good wishes for the country, El-Sisi s spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The UAE is one of Egypt s key Arab allies.

Egypt s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly opened on Monday the 5th Arab Forum on the prospects for nuclear power for electricity generation and seawater desalination, organised by Egypt s Nuclear Power Plant Authority and the Arab Atomic Energy Agency, in cooperation with the Arab League, the Arab Ministerial Council of Electricity and the Arab Union of Electricity. In his opening speech, Madbouly said that nuclear power is one of the strategic choices for achieving sustainable development, and stressed that the forum is a vital event for the Arab region given the increasing interest in the peaceful uses of nuclear power in various fields. "What we are all aware of is the significance of the constant coordination and affirmation of the peaceful use of nuclear power, as evidenced by the high-level representation of various international institutions in the forum," the prime minister said. He asserted that the forum is an opportunity to express support for Arab countries orientation toward the enduring development and the peaceful usage of nuclear power, in addition to achieving communication and discussion between specialists and experts to back decision makers to meet the growing demands on electricity and desalinated water using nuclear power.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi directed on Saturday the bodies concerned to support the New Administrative Capital with state-of-the-art services, taking into account long-term development purposes. El-Sisi made his directives during a meeting with Chairman of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority Ihab El Far and a number of senior officials from the authority and Presidential Adviser for Urban Planning Amir Sayed Ahmed. The meeting discussed work progress in several under-construction projects undertaken by the authority in the new capital, especially the government district, its central road network and an Islamic cultural center, Presidential Spokesman Bassan Rady said. It also tackled the latest developments in number of national projects in progress nationwide to improve the state s road networks and management of water resources, Rady added. The President underlined the need to observe the projects deadlines. The 700 square kilometre capital, launched in 2015 by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, will house more than 6.5 million people. The first phase of the New Administrative Capital comprises a government district, residential neighbourhoods, and a business district. The government is planning to relocate ministries to the new capital by mid-2020.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi named 16 new provincial governors on Wednesday, ahead of an anticipated ministerial reshuffle. Eleven of the 16 new governors held senior security or army roles before their appointment. Wednesday’s appointments include the naming of Giza security chief General Mohamed El-Sherif as governor of Alexandria, a position that has been held by an engineering professor since August 2018. El-Sherif previously served as Alexandria security chief and was in charge of the national security body in the governorate. The new appointments come as a number of Egyptian MPs expect an upcoming cabinet reshuffle that will involve around 10 ministers, including those responsible for health, supply and education. Several incumbent governors have been moved to other governorates, including those appointed in Kafr El-Sheikh, Assiut and Fayoum. Head of the Suez Canal University, Tarek Rashed Rahmy, has been named as governor of Gharbiya and former military officer Sherif Fahmy as Ismailia governor, succeeding another general who resigned a few months ago. General Khaled Shoaib, an advisor to the defense minister who supervised parliament and presidential elections in recent years, was appointed governor of Marsa Matrouh. Many provincial governors of Egypt s 27 governorates usually hail from the army or police. Twenty-three deputy governors were also appointed on Wednesday, according to state TV, many of whom are graduates of a presidential youth program and a new state academy for youth training. Those include appointees in the governorates of Alexandria, Giza and South Sinai.

Egypt has successfully launched its Tiba 1 Satellite from a space centre in French Guiana in South America at 11:22 CLT on Tuesday. Launched by an Ariane 5 rocket, Egypt s first telecommunication satellite was initially scheduled to launch last Friday, but the launch was postponed due to a malfunction in the power supply to the launching platform. It was due to be launched on Monday but then was postponed for a further 24 hours. The head of the Egyptian Space Agency, Mohamed El-Qousy, told the media that the decision to postpone the launch on Monday was due to weather conditions and the wind. The decision to launch the satellite on Tuesday came after intensive meetings between the French company Arianespace and a high-level Egyptian delegation at the launching base in the city of Kourou in French Guiana. The French company briefed the Egyptian delegation on the latest in technical preparations for the launch platform after tests on the operating systems were completed. Tiba 1 will cover all of Egypt and provide telecommunication and internet services to remote and isolated areas. El-Qousy has previously stated that the satellite will be operational within three months of its launch. In a statement issued later on Tuesday, the Egyptian cabinet said that the satellite represents a "cornerstone of the support for development projects." The cabinet hailed the efforts by the consortium of Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence, especially the drawing up of an ambitious timetable to build the satellite and overcome several obstacles. "It is the first Egyptian satellite orbital slot position at 35.5° East and aims to improve the telecommunication infrastructure to boost the public and commercial sectors in Egypt and several Arab and Nile basin countries," the statement added. The satellite is a civil and government telecommunication satellite, developed by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space as co-prime contractors, with Thales Alenia Space acting as the consortium’s lead partner. It will be owned and operated by the government of Egypt. Airbus Defence and Space supplied the platform and also assembled and tested the spacecraft. Thales Alenia Space designed and built the communications payload, which will provide broadband communications in ka band. Tiba 1 is the fourth satellite launched by Arianespace for Egypt. It will be deployed by Arianespace into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), subsequently transitioning to its operational orbital slot position at 35.5° East. Egypt became the first Arab country to put a telecommunications satellite into space with the launch of NileSat 101 in 1998. It was followed in 2000 by Nilesat 102, which helped distribute hundreds of satellite TV channels. In 2007, Egypt launched EgyptSat 1, which became the first Egyptian remote-sensing satellite, and was manufactured in cooperation between Egypt’s National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS) and Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye State Design Office. In February 2019, EgyptSat A, a remote-sensing satellite, was launched from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome, a spaceport in Kazakhstan leased to Russia. The satellite replaced the former satellite EgyptSat 2, which was launched in April 2014 and lost in February 2015, and is Egypt’s third remote-sensing satellite.

Egypt s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry stressed that the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories will undermine the two-state solution and lead to hatred and violence. The minister made his statements before the opening session of an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers, which kicked off in Cairo on Monday to discuss Washington’s changed policy on Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories. He reaffirmed that Egypt rejects all unilateral decisions on the final settlement of the Palestinian cause. Shoukry said Egypt’s stance on the settlements in the occupied territories is crystal clear, stressing that the settlements are illegal and contradict the international law and relevant resolutions, particularly the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016. The minister asserted that Egypt fully supports the Palestinian people in their endeavour to bring about fair and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, the Arab peace initiative and international resolutions on legitimacy to establish a Palestinian state whose capital is East Jerusalem. The meeting, chaired by Iraq and attended by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit, was held at the request of Palestine with the support of the member states to consider the “serious” developments in the US administration’s stance on Israel s illegal settlements built on occupied Arab lands.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has ordered continued efforts to achieve a comprehensive development in Sinai through carrying out agricultural projects. The president made the remarks Sunday during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and a host of ministers. Sisi instructed the bodies concerned to continue development efforts in Sinai to improve services offered to residents and provide more job opportunities, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said. The meeting tackled the implementation of a project to cultivate an area of 400,000 feddans, east of Suez Canal, the spokesman said. The meeting focused on two important axes with regard to Sinai development, namely water resources and infrastructure.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Saturday that the right to development is an inalienable human right, given its importance for improving people s living conditions. El-Sisi made his remark in an address during the 4th edition of the Africa Investment Forum 2019, which kicked off on Friday in the New Administrative Capital. Approaching a population of 1.2 billion, Africa provides a real investment opportunity, he said. The president applauded the wide participation of African states, global, regional and local investors, banks and financial institutions in the forum. "This wide participation demonstrates a genuine willingness to invest in Africa," El-Sisi saod, highlighting the continent s vast natural resources. Shedding light on ubiquitous development challenges in Africa, El-Sisi said that these challenges are not limited to Africa, neither do they provide any reason for concern, the present noted. We can take immediate steps to embark on trillions of dollars worth of investments in Africa, not just investments that are worth billions of dollars, El-Sisi said, urging all the forum participants to invest in the continent. "As state leaders, we are responsible for our peoples and for changing their lives for the better," he said. "We have the opportunity to do that," the president added. Confronting corruption While addressing a roundtable session of the Africa Investment Forum 2019 on the same day, he reiterated that Egypt will never tolerate corruption and corrupt people. The president stressed that Egypt confronts all forms of corruption through digitization and supporting anti-corruption agencies. He explained that poor management, education and weak political will are all forms of corruption, reaffirming that there is no interference in the affairs of anti-corruption institutions. El-Sisi pointed out that Egypt works to develop education quality and electricity through implementing digitization as soon as possible. He added that the state never allows to corrupt people to hold positions.

Egypt is set to launch its first-ever telecommunications satellite, TIBA- 1, on Friday, which officials say will be a major milestone that will see internet and telecom services cover the entire country. The communications spacecraft, developed by Airbus and France s Thales Alenia Space (TAS), will be key to enhancing the country s land telecom and internet networks, giving millions of people in remote and rural areas internet beamed down from space. Designed to remain in service in orbit for more than 15 years, TIBA-1 will be Egypt s first push into satellite-based internet services. There will be no such thing as "system is down," said Mohamed El-Qomsy, CEO of the Egyptian Space Agency. As Egypt presses ahead with efforts to promote e-payment, public electronic services and financial inclusion, expanding internet and telecom coverage to most of the population is crucial to pull off the country s digital transformation plans. "Once the [current land communications] system breaks down, there will be a second network to replace it. This means guaranteeing having a strong, secured communications network at all times," El-Qomsy said in TV comments. The satellite will also be key to boosting social development in the country of 100 million people, El-Qomsy said, citing promoting telelearning and telemedicine as an offset against under-resourced schools and hospitals, as well as offering strong telecom networks for the social insurance system. Weighing approximately 5,600 kg, TIBA-1 was flown to French Guiana last month ahead of its scheduled liftoff from Kourou on an Ariane 5. It has an electric power capability of higher than 9 kW. Airbus supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform and assembled and tested the spacecraft, while leading partner TAS designed and built the communications payload, featuring a dual mission in Ka-band for secure and broadband communications, Airbus said last month. TIBA-1 will occupy the upper passenger position in Ariane 5’s dual-payload configuration on the upcoming mission, launch company Arianespace said. The satellite is to be accompanied by co-passenger GX5, according to Arianespace. The satellite will help bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas, and will contribute to the development of all government sectors, the Egyptian cabinet said. The satellite will also offer internet and telecom services to some Nile Basin and North African countries, and is the first in a series of TIBA Sat satellites that Egypt is planning to launch.

The highest authority in Sunni Islam, Al-Azhar, has strongly condemned a US move that effectively supports Israel’s building of settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying the stance is a "blatant assault" on Palestinian rights. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday a shift in decades-long American policy on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, claiming that they "are not, per se, inconsistent with international law." The declaration was condemned by Palestinians, Arab governments and the European Union. Al-Azhar warned of "the serious repercussions of those decisions,” which it considers as "a green light for the Zionist entity to build more settlements and commit further violations and crimes against the occupied Palestinian state." The decision is "completely inconsistent with the provisions of international laws and the United Nations Charter that acknowledges the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory," Al-Azhar added in a statement on its official website. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel annexed in 1967, have long remained an obstacle to a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians want Israel to dismantle all its settlements in the West Bank, which they hope will become part of their future Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority has called on the Arab League to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the matter, and Ibrahim Melhem, a spokesman for the Palestinian government, said on Facebook that the cabinet was due to hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss the consequences of the US decision. The move by the Trump administration is the latest boost to Israel. Washington recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, moved the US embassy to the holy city in 2018, and recognised Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday at the Presidential Palace in Berlin. Spokesman of the Egyptian Presidency Bassam Rady said in a statement that during the meeting, President El-Sisi praised the recent advancement in Egyptian-German relations on all levels. According to Rady, President El-Sisi expressed Egypt s aspiration for strengthening the relations between the two countries, especially on the economic and commercial levels by maximising the volume of German investments in Egypt. President El-Sisi said that Germany is one of Egypt s most important partners in Europe, and that Germany currently has a chance to increase its presence in the Egyptian market and to take advantage of Egypt’s modern infrastructure and the improvements in the business climate. President El-Sisi said he appreciates that Germany returned the archaeological book Atlas Sadid to Egypt in October 2019. The book had been smuggled out of Egypt. The Egyptian president said that he looks forward to further cooperation between the two countries to fight the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage and artefacts. For his part, President Steinmeier praised the measures taken by Egypt in reforming the Egyptian economy, as well as the major national projects that are currently being implemented. The German president said that Germany is keen on supporting Egypt s development efforts in all fields through joint investments and exchanging expertise. He also praised Egypt s pivotal role in stabilising the Middle East and Africa, especially in the fight against illegal immigration and terrorism, as well as achieving interfaith coexistence and supporting peaceful resolutions for the regional crises. Spokesman Rady said in his statement that the two presidents also discussed a number of regional and international issues of common concern, particularly the Libyan and Syrian crises, as well as the Palestinian issue. According to Rady, both sides agreed on the importance of reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the case of Palestine in accordance with international laws and traditions.