Sisi: “We do not want to create a problem for our European partners”
The President of Egypt is in Athens, Abdel Fatah al -Sisi, who is meeting the prime minister at this time, Kyriakos Mitsotakisat the Maximus Mansion.
Al Sisi’s aircraft landed at Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” at 10:15 in the morning. The President of Egypt was welcomed by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.
Prior to the meeting with the prime minister, his meeting with the President of the Republic was preceded, Constantine Tasoula. During the meeting, Mr Tasoulas said that “our long -standing relationship, which has passed the centuries -old test, is characterized by the relations of friendship and cooperation. These good neighborly relationships are ultimately all the essence of the principles and forecasts of the UN Charter, in which for decades, and today, humanity has invested many hopes. However, this exemplary relationship, Mr President, still has room for improvement. “
“Seeing the representatives of the two countries’ governments and realizing the next meetings you will have at the Prime Minister’s Office, I think this margin of improvement is a wide range, a great deal of themes such as security, such as energy, education, culture, and it is worth it, The issue that is worth mentioning, Mr President, is the situation in our wider region, in our neighborhood, which inspires many concerns and that I know that your country’s interest, which has a great influence in this Mediterranean region, in the Middle East, in Africa, is interested in its prevalence. It is interested in the ceasefire and all these assumptions, all these parameters are worth including in an exchange of views to see how our countries, which are committed to the principles of peaceful dialogue and peaceful coexistence, will be able to contribute to this direction in our wider region. “
For his part, Mr al -Sisi thanked his Greek counterpart for the reception and reminded that he was visiting Greece for the 5th time, proof of the good relationship between the two countries.
“I want to allow me to address a warm greeting to the Greek people’s friend,” the Egyptian president said, and then said that Egypt is in favor of peace and coordination of Egypt-Greece aims at the stability of the region, while noting that there is room for improvement.
He also referred to the issue of Gaza by saying that efforts were being made to cease fire and return the hostages, while for the migration he said there are 9 million people who want to leave Gaza and go to Egypt. “We want the Palestinians to stay in the Gaza Strip,” he said in this context.
Since 2016, Egypt has not been a bridge for immigrants to leave Europe, Mr Al-Sisi also noted, adding: “This is a moral and humanitarian issue for us. We do not want to create a problem for our European partners ยป
“We are saying to deal with illegal immigration but coordination also needs legal immigration,” the Egyptian president continued.
“And we and Greece are interested in stability,” concluded Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.