Ukranian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has expressed his nation's support for Egypt's fight against terrorism, promising Ukraine's continued cooperation on security issues during a press conference in Cairo on Monday. "The fight against terrorism is not a challenge for one country but a global challenge," said Klimkin during the joint media event with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. Klimkin arrived on Cairo on Sunday for a two-day visit, the first official visit by a Ukrainian foreign minister since 2010, as pointed out by the Egyptian foreign ministry in an official statement. At Monday's press conference, Shoukry and Klimkin welcomed the return of direct flights between Cairo and Kiev, stressing the positive impact it will have on tourism and trade in both nations. Ukraine placed a ban on direct flights following the downing of a Russian passenger plane over Sinai in 2015, leaving 224 passengers dead. The Ukranian FM said that Egypt is an important holiday destination for his people, with 800,000 Ukranian tourists visiting Egypt last year. On economic and trade relations, Klimkin said that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries is estimated at $2.4 billion in 2017. Shoukry stressed the importance of establishing a joint business council for the two countries aimed at enhancing trade relations.
"We have a lot in common ... our upcoming bilateral commission meetings in the coming months will not just be meetings bringing ministers together," said Klimkin. "We need to build our business and bring our people together." Shoukry provided a summary of his discussions earlier in the day with Klimkin, saying the two men had discussed the latest developments in Egypt and the region. During the talks, the Egyptian FM highlighted Egypt's battle against terror in recent years, also shedding some light on the range of infrastructure development projects aimed at boosting the Egyptian economy. The two men also discussed the security situation in Syria and Libya, with Shoukry updating his counterpart on the latest developments. Klimkin is expected to meet with Egypt's parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al before wrapping up his visit.
