Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday in Paris where they discussed President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's planned visit to France later this month, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. According to a ministry statement, Shoukry and Le Drian also discussed Egyptian-French relations, while Shoukry spoke about the latest developments and progress in relation to Egypt's economic reform programme. The ministers also spoke about a number of regional issues. According to the Egyptian statement, Le Drian listened to Shoukry's assessment of the developments in Syria and Libya, especially as Egypt has been hosting talks with Libyan factions. The two ministers also discussed the situation in Iraq after the recent referendum on Kurdistan's independence. Concerning the developments in Palestine and the peace process, Le Drian "praised the Egyptian role in broaching a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas." He asked about the latest updates concerning the Qatar crisis and Shoukry stated that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain insist that Doha must stop supporting terrorist groups that threaten regional and international security. Shoukry is currently in Paris to support the nomination of former minister Moushira Khattab for the job of director-general of UNESCO.
