Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday, on the sideline of his participation in the Afro-Asian Summit held currently in Jakarta, Youm7 reported. They discussed the bilateral relations and recent developments in the Middle East. The Egyptian official expressed appreciation to the Indonesian government for hosting the summit, praising its success. Mahlab stressed on the need for combating terrorism in the Middle East. He added that Egypt bears the responsibility of correcting the extremist ideas falsely attributed to Islam, highlighting the importance of Al Azhar's role in this regard. On the other hand, the Prime Minister expressed Egypt's keenness to push forward the bilateral relations between the countries. He added that Egypt is looking forward to study Indonesian experience to achieve economic reform and develop the slums. "There are promising opportunities for the Indonesian investors to participate in projects currently executed in Egypt, including the New Suez Canal Project that will provide centers for logistic and industrial services," He added Widodo lauded the Egyptian government, emphasizing on the need for increasing cooperation between the countries during the upcoming period. He presented his country's experience of economic reform based on lifting subsidies off fuel. He clarified that the step saved $236 billion, now, directed to infrastructure and development projects, including the educational and health services.
