President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will visit Belarus soon, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said yesterday after meeting with his Belarusian counterpart in Minsk, the Belarusian Telegraph Agency reports. While the visit has yet to be scheduled, El Sisi is expected to sign a roadmap for cooperation between both countries, the minister added. Separately, Egypt is also expected to sign a freetrade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union that is currently being put in final form.

Shoukry also spoke about Cairo’s position on talks between rival Syrian factions, encouraging UN-sponsored dialogue andconfirming Egypt’s support of a peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis through the Geneva peace process, according to Sputnik.

Shoukry’s statements on Syria come as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Egypt apparently support the idea of conducting the second meeting between the Syrian opposition, a representative of pro-Assad forces, Nimrud Suleiman, told Sputnik on Monday.

While in Minsk, the Egyptian FM also met with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, and Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Minister Vladimir Koltovich, who co-chairs the Belarusian-Egyptian commission of economic cooperation.

Next on his itinerary are meetings with the Romanian president, foreign minister, and heads of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest, Ahram Gate reports. The minister is expected to sign three MoUs on tourism cooperation, political consultation, and waiving visa requirements for the two countries’ diplomats.