Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl met late on Friday to discuss tourism, economy, investment and common regional and international interests, according to a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry. During the meeting Sameh stressed the depth and importance of the relationship and cooperation enjoyed between the two countries, especially during the coming period, as Austria takes up its rotatation as holder of the presidency of the European Union from July to the end of 2018.
The two officials discussed the challenges faced by some Austrian companies operating in Egypt and means to overcome them.
During the meeting Shoukry highlighted the indicators of improvement in the Egyptian economy with the implementation of the economic reform programme in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, which includes structural economic reforms for the first time in the modern history of Egypt, and which requires the support of Egypt's international and regional allies.
Meanwhile, Shoukry urged the Austrian side to amend the travel guidelines to Egypt to enhance cooperation in the tourism fields, with the restoration of tourism movement to normal rates.
The two officials discussed issues related to Egyptian-European cooperation to combat illegal immigration, Egypt's vision on the issue of combating terrorism while reviewing the results of the comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018.
As for regional issues, Shoukry and Kneissl discussed the Libyan, Syrian, and Palestinian crises as well as the lastest developments in Yemen.
He also reviewed Egypt's vision that efforts should focus on peaceful and political settlement of these crises, and the importance of further efforts to encourage the Palestinian and Israeli sides to resume the peace process.
Egypt's foreign minister was keen to respond to the inquiries of the Austrian foreign minister on the role of the Egyptian efforts to build a Libyan national consensus under the auspices of the United Nations, as well as the efforts of the UN envoy to Syria.
Shoukry stressed the need to resume political negotiations between the Syrian parties as "the only and optimal framework for resolving the Syrian crisis and implementing resolutions of international legitimacy."
At the end of the meeting, Shoukry expressed his gratitude for the Austrian Government's willingness to provide its technical expertise in the management of the Danube water resources, so that Egypt would benefit from Nile water management with the Ethiopian and Sudanese sides.
For her part, the Austrian Foreign Minister also listened to the Foreign Minister's assessment of developments in the Iranian nuclear program, praising the pioneering role of Egypt, which can be relied upon to resolve a large number of crises in the Middle East.
