President Abdel Fattah El Sisi Meets With France's Minister of Economy and Finance

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with France's Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire. The meeting was also attended by Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, as well as France's Ambassador to Egypt.

The French Minister of Economy and Finance confirmed that France values its close and outstanding relations with Egypt, which is a cornerstone for stability in the Middle East. He underlined his country's commitment to strengthening the ongoing partnership between the two countries and to further advancing them across various levels.

Mr. Le Maire emphasized that France holds Egypt's President and his wise leadership in great respect for his ability to navigate Egypt through a difficult era into the current period of stability. He lauded the wise decisions that led to the remarkable positive development in Egypt's economic indicators as well as the unprecedented achievement rates of mega national projects, including the new administrative capital, which is Egypt's gateway to the future and one of the largest and most attractive urban development projects in the world.

President El Sisi underscored the importance Egypt accords to its relations with France. He looked forward to further advancing joint cooperation with France in the coming period so as to achieve significant progress in the two countries' relations and promote them toward broader prospects across all fields. This includes strengthening coordination and consultations between Egypt and France on various regional and international issues of mutual concern, so as to counter the ongoing challenges, primarily the current crises in the Middle East, whose repercussions extend to impact the Mediterranean region.

The meeting touched on a number of dossiers pertinent to bilateral relations and on ways to bolster the partnership between the two countries, particularly in the sectors of health; new and renewable energy; transport and logistics. The meeting also tackled enhancing the partnership between France and the African continent under the umbrella of Egypt's upcoming chairmanship of the African Union, by exploring opportunities for trilateral cooperation to serve the developmental objectives in Africa.

President El Sisi reiterated that economic and trade cooperation between Egypt and France as well as boosting the size and scope of French investments in the Egyptian market are of high priority to Egypt. He stressed that this cooperation has become much stronger and firmer, particularly in light of the positive outcomes of the comprehensive economic reform program currently being implemented in Egypt.

This is in addition to Egypt's promising and huge market which offers access for French exports into various markets in the region that share free trade agreements with Egypt; the investment incentives and advantages offered by the developing business environment; as well as the huge investment opportunities for the French business sector in national projects including the Suez Canal Corridor and new cities currently being constructed across the country.