Tehran wants to improve Egypt ties following Saudi rapprochement
First Saudi Arabia, now Tehran wants to improve ties with Egypt: Iran wants to build on last week’s diplomatic breakthrough with Saudi Arabia and improve ties with Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday. “Egypt is an important country and the two countries value each other in the region … We believe in the need to take new steps to improve the relations between the two countries,” Nasser Kanaani said in comments at a press briefing picked up by Iranian state media. This came a few days after Tehran agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, seven years after the two nations cut ties.
Italian FM in Cairo: President El Sisi and Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly yesterday met Italian Foreign Minister and deputy PM Antonio Tajani, who is heading a delegation of Italian companies to Egypt, cabinet and Ittihadiya said yesterday. The delegation, featuring representatives from 30 agriculture, irrigation, and food processing companies, banks, and financial institutions, sat with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly to discuss investment opportunities in Egypt. El Sisi discussed energy, migration and economic ties in his meeting with Tajani.
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- All options are on the table in GERD dispute -Shoukry: The government still has many cards to play amid the continued standoff with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told Hadith El Qahera in an interview on Monday (watch, runtime: 18:08). Ethiopia is still not showing flexibility in advancing the negotiations and reaching a suitable agreement for all the concerned parties, Shoukry added.
- Egypt calls for political settlement in Syria: Shoukry stressed the need to revive political negotiations in Syria to bring the 12-year-old war to an end during a meeting with the UN’s Syria envoy, Geir Otto Pedersen, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
- Egyptian-Swedish business forum: Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir was in Stockholm yesterday for an Egyptian-Swedish business forum that saw business leaders discuss investment opportunities, according to a ministry statement.