NEWS

Rumen Radev and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi: Bulgaria and Egypt are Natural Allies in the Fight against Terrorism, Organized Crime, Radicalism and Illegal Migration

At a meeting in Cairo the two Presidents confirmed Bulgaria’s and Egypt’s readiness to promote bilateral investment cooperation, the creation of joint ventures and the joint export for third markets

Bulgaria and Egypt are located near a region hit by a continuous crisis and are natural allies in their efforts to strengthen stability in the Middle East and in the fight against organized crime, illegal migration, radicalization and terrorism. This was the stance shared by Presidents Rumen Radev and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who held a meeting today in Cairo. The Bulgarian Head of State is on an official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt at the invitation of his counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. As one of the EU member states most nearly located to Egypt, Bulgaria will continue to ensure that the voices of the countries from the region and Egypt are more loudly heard in Europe because the stability and security in the EU itself depends on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, Rumen Radev emphasized. 

The Bulgarian President highly appreciated Egypt’s contribution to expanding the dialogue between the countries from the African Union and the League of Arab Countries, on the one hand, and the EU, on the other, including coping with the common challenges. “A single country cannot counteract terrorism, the trafficking of people and illegal migration and therefore all affected countries should pool efforts to this end,” Rumen Radev stressed. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said that Egypt will continue to prevent the trafficking of people and added that all illegal migration flows towards Europe from the territory of the country have been efficiently curbed in the past months.

A mutual interest in deepening the bilateral cooperation in the spheres of defense, security and military training was voiced at the meeting. The traditionally good partnership between the specialized production enterprises was noted.

The bilateral trade between Bulgaria and Egypt, which reaches one billion US$, is an excellent basis for a transition towards a new stage in the relations between the two countries – not only in terms of trade, but also in terms of a stronger investment cooperation between the businesses, the creation of joint enterprises and joint export for third markets. Information technologies, the production of car parts and components, of home appliances and furniture were highlighted as particularly promising spheres.

The more active cooperation within the joint cooperation committee and also launching a Bulgarian-Egyptian Business Council whose function would be to support the business circles in implementing projects of mutual interest were also discussed at the meeting. Rumen Radev identified the Egyptian-Bulgarian business forum held in Cairo today, in which more than 30 Bulgarian companies from the defense industry, agriculture and food production, machine building, high-tech companies and tourism are taking part, as a real step ahead in the development of bilateral relations.

The more active partnership in the sphere of air and maritime transport is also an investment in expanding the business ties and in promoting cultural exchange and tourism, the Bulgarian President said. “Particularly in the sphere of tourism both Bulgaria and Egypt not only have something to offer, but also can learn a lot from each other,” Rumen Radev said and invited Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to visit our country and sign bilateral documents which would create new opportunities for cooperation between Bulgaria and Egypt.

Bulgaria’s strategic location and our country’s ambition to diversify the routes for energy supply and the transit of natural gas to the Balkans and Europe, were also among the topics the talks focused on. Rumen Radev highlighted Bulgaria’s interest in having the potential partners from the Mediterranean region, including Egypt, join this process.

The Bulgarian Head of State and his wife Desislava Radeva were welcomed with an official ceremony in the Presidential palace Ittihadiya by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his wife Entissar el-Sisi.

In Cairo President Rumen Radev also held meetings with the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Kemal Madbouly and Parliament Speaker Dr. Ali Abdel Aal Sayyed Ahmed.