Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via phone on Saturday establishing joint investment projects and boosting cooperation in various fields. El-Sisi affirmed his keenness to boost bilateral relations including various possible forms of cooperation, especially food industries, wheat silos, ports, energy and tourism, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said. The Egyptian president hailed the momentum gained recently for boosting the bilateral relations with Ukraine. Zelenskyy stressed his keenness on coordination and consultation with El-Sisi in various fields, Rady said. Zelenskyy voiced aspiration to enhance the cooperative relations between the two friendly countries in light of Egypt's pivotal role under El-Sisi to enhance stability and security in the Middle East and Africa. Zelenskyy's aspiration toward boosting cooperation with Egypt also comes in light of Egypt's successful and appreciated efforts to halt the danger of illegal emigration across its lands to Europe, Rady added. El-Sisi and Zelenskyy discussed boosting bilateral relations, especially economic and commercial ties as well as investments, Rady said. The two leaders addressed boosting security cooperation between Egypt and Ukraine in a way that serves their joint interests. They also discussed regional and political issues of mutual concern, Rady added. El-Sisi's last official bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy was in September 2019 on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 74) in New York. According to Ukraine's Embassy in Cairo in February, 31 bilateral treaties, mostly economic, are in force between the two countries. They include conventions, agreements and MoUs. Trade volume in goods and services between the two countries hit $1.8 billion in 2020. Almost 730,000 Ukrainian tourists visited Egypt in 2020, during the first year of the pandemic in the African country, down from 1.49 million in 2019, said the embassy in February. This makes Ukraine the second largest source of tourists visiting Egyptian resorts. In June last year, Egypt and Ukraine also established an inter-parliamentary friendship group in Ukraine's Parliament.
