President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to discuss boosting bilateral cooperation between Cairo and Islamabad in all fields, especially those related to trade, El-Sisi's spokesman said. On Thursday, President El-Sisi took part in the emergency Arab summit at the Al-Safa Palace in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to discuss Arab and regional security. During his meeting with Prime Minister Khan, El- Sisi hailed the firm and historic ties binding Egypt and Pakistan, and asserted his keenness on boosting bilateral cooperation, according to a statement by the Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady. He also affirmed Egypt's keenness on promoting coordination and consultation with Pakistan on various regional issues and files of mutual concern, above all combating terrorism and extremist ideology. According to the statement, Khan expressed Pakistan's appreciation of the role Egypt plays in supporting security in the Middle East and the Islamic world. The Pakistani prime minister also praised the recent achievements accomplished by Egypt in all fields, especially in confronting terrorism, implementing economic reform and projects towards comprehensive development. Khan extended an invitation to El-Sisi to visit Pakistan in order to continue boosting relations between the two countries, according to Rady. Addressing the emergency summit on Thursday, the Egyptian president said that any threat to Gulf security, and subsequently Arab national security, requires all Arab nations to take a “firm, wise and decisive stance” to confront it, saying that Arabs will never tolerate any encroachment on any of their rights. The president presented a four-point Egyptian vision on the way to handle the threats to Arab national security. El-Sisi will hold a number of other bilateral meetings with Arab and Islamic leaders on the sidelines of the Arab and Islamic gatherings in Saudi Arabia.
