Great space for the improvement of cooperation between Serbia and Egypt

At the press conference after the meeting, Minister Selaković said that everyone agreed that the traditionally good relations between Serbia and Egypt were based on strong historical ties, and that they had been excellent in the past, especially during the time of Presidents Nasser and Tito, when, within the Non-Aligned Movement, Yugoslavia and Egypt cooperated for the benefit of the entire independent and free world.

"However, what we are doing today does not reflect on our history, but on our future. We talked exactly about that – about the improvement of our bilateral ties, both at the political level and in the sphere of economy", said Selaković.

Minister Selaković stated that Serbia and Egypt had a frequent exchange of visits at a high level this year, and that such meetings are an opportunity to see what we have done in the previous period and to make plans for the future.

"We also talked about the foundations of our relations in the past, about the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement. Serbia will again be a place where, I believe, all the founding countries, as well as the member states, will gather in October. It will be a great honor for us to host President Sisi in Belgrade", said the head of Serbian diplomacy.

According to him, regional issues, the situation in the Middle East and the Balkans were also discussed at the meeting, but special emphasis was placed on economic cooperation.

The two ministers discussed the possibility of organizing a session of the Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation by the end of the year, as well as a session of the Joint Business Council, because, as they mutually stated, there is room for improving our cooperation in areas such as agriculture, tourism, telecommunications, energy, health…

"In the 21st century, only strong nations will survive, and strong nations are led by strong people. I congratulate your great state and nation on the fact that it has a visionary at its helm, who is paving the way for you towards the future", Selaković said.

Minister Selaković informed his colleague Shoukry about the results of Serbia's fight against the corona virus epidemic, but also about the fact that Egypt is an increasingly popular tourist destination for the citizens of our country.

"We are proud of the fact that, according to the data I received this morning, in the first seven months of this year, according to the number of inhabitants, we represent the largest tourist nation here in Egypt. More than 140,000 Serbian tourists visited your country", Selaković said.

Addressing the journalists, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Sameh Hassan Shoukry, stated that the relations between Serbia and Egypt are marked by mutual solidarity.

"We also discussed the establishment of mechanisms that will benefit the two peoples and we agreed on many issues in international politics. We plan to continue our cooperation at various levels and work on deepening it in various areas, especially the economy", Shoukry said.

According to him, the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is grateful for the invitation to participate in the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the first Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade in October.