The head of France's foreign intelligence service, Bernard Emie, told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting in Cairo on Monday that France appreciates Egypt's efforts in achieving political resolutions to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to an Egyptian presidency statement. In the statement, Egypt's presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said that El-Sisi received Emie and extend his greetings to French President Emmanuel Macron, while stressing the exclusiveness, depth and strength of the two countries' relations. El-Sisi also expressed Egypt's keenest interest in continuing extensive bilateral cooperation in various fields. From his side, Emie underlined France's desire for continued coordination and consultation with the Egyptian side over different challenges faced by the two countries, especially regional matters. He also praised Egypt's pivotal role in strengthening security and stability in the region. According to Rady, El-Sisi and Emie also discussed ways of boosting international efforts to combat terrorism and extremism. The visit by the French official follows French Defense Minister Florence Parly's trip to Egypt last December for a meeting with President El-Sisi. In the meeting, El-Sisi told Parly that Egypt aspires to develop military ties with France in the near future. The Egyptian President visited France in October 2017 for meetings with Macron, in which the pair discussed the latest developments in Palestine, Libya and the wider Arab region. Both presidents agreed to declare 2019 as the year of Egyptian-French culture and tourism, with El-Sisi extending an invitation for his French counterpart to visit Egypt.
