Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Finnish counterpart Timo Soini earlier Tuesday on the sidelines of the World Youth Forum where they discussed the countries' bilateral relations, Egypt's foreign ministry reported. Shoukry discussed the latest positive developments in Egypt's economic reforms programme, which began in 2014, noting recent praise from International Monetary Fund representatives. Positive appraisal from the IMF is key to attracting investments from European corporations such as Finland's, especially in the fields of logistics and port services surrounding the Suez Canal development project. The Egyptian minister also talked in the meeting about the importance of the EU's adopting of a complete vision regarding Egypt, taking in consideration the country's efforts to achieve stability while meeting challenges like terrorism and other regional developments. The pair also discussed Egypt's efforts to stop illegal immigration both at the executive and legislative levels. Regarding recent developments in the wider Middle East, Minister Soini listened to Egypt's assessments about developments in Syria, Libya, and Iraq, as well the most recent developments affectign Lebanon. Minister Timo Soini began his two-day official visit to Egypt on Monday and is expected to meet with more Egyptian officials, as well as with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. In statements to Egypt's state-owned MENA news agency, Finnish Ambassador to Cairo Laura Kansikas-Debraise said that preparations were underway for a future visit by the Finnish parliamentary speaker to Egypt, which will occur soon. She also added that a Finnish business delegation is set to visit the country next year. Soini's visit is the first by a Finnish foreign minister to Egypt since 2009.
