CAIRO — On an official visit to Egypt, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with the country’s President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday.
The President of Egypt welcomed the official visit of Prime Minister Pashinyan and emphasized that it will give a new impetus to the development and expansion of multi-sectoral cooperation between Egypt and Armenia. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi emphasized the fact of centuries-old close ties between the Armenian and Egyptian peoples.
Both Pashinyan and al-Sisi praised the current state of Armenian-Egyptian relations. The Egyptian leader said that during their talks they focused on ways of deepening bilateral commercial ties so that they “correspond to the level of political relations between the two countries.”
Al-Sisi, who visited Yerevan in January 2023, again paid tribute to his country’s small Armenian community.
“Thousands of Armenians have lived in Egypt and contributed to the development of Egyptian society in various spheres: the political, economic, cultural and artistic ones,” he told the press.
Prime Minister Pashinyan thanked for the warm reception, adding that the Armenian government is interested in expanding and deepening relations with Egypt. The Prime Minister emphasized the expansion and deepening of trade and economic cooperation and emphasized the need to develop business ties in realizing the existing potential.
The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Egypt discussed a number of issues related to the implementation of new joint programs in the fields of economy, infrastructure, tourism, aviation, high technologies, agriculture, environment, education, and culture.
The interlocutors also discussed issues related to the processes taking place in the regions of the South Caucasus and the Middle East. Both sides emphasized the strengthening of peace and stability and the implementation of consistent steps in that direction.
Prime Minister Pashinyan briefed his Egyptian counterpart on the details of the ongoing discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty and referred to the principled positions of the Armenian side. Reference was also made to the “Crossroads of Peace” project of the Armenian government and its principles.
Armenia intends to send humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip
Nikol Pashinyan also referred to the humanitarian problems of people forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh and the steps taken by the Armenian government to solve them.
Pashinyan said that Armenia is trying to send humanitarian aid to Gaza ravaged by the latest conflict with Israel.
Pashinyan said that he discussed with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi practical modalities of organizing such an aid delivery through Egypt.
“We need the support and advice of our Egyptian partners regarding our delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and we thank President al-Sisi for his willingness to help in this matter,” he told a joint news briefing after their talks. “Our foreign ministers will deal with this issue.”
Gaza is facing a looming famine amid Israel’s military offensive that has reportedly killed more than 30,000 Palestinians. The offensive followed last October’s Hamas attack on southern Israel in which the militants killed 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 others.
Armenia twice voted late last year for United Nations General Assembly resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
“Armenia regrets tens of thousands of innocent victims of the escalation of hostilities in Gaza,” said Pashinyan. “We ourselves have experienced the horror of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and we join calls of the international community for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.”
He also reaffirmed Armenia’s long-running support for a “two-state” solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After the meeting of Nikol Pashinyan and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a number of documents were signed between Armenia and Egypt.
A memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation was signed between the Armenian Ministry of Economy and the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation, the press service of the Armenian Government reported.
In addition, the Armenian Ministry of Economy and the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation signed a plan on implementation of scientific and technical cooperation in the area of agriculture in 2024-2026.
Also, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of environmental protection was signed between the environment ministries of the two countries.
