Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is due to hold talks Saturday with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who is paying a brief visit to Cairo in a show of support for Egypt's efforts to forge a truce in the embattled Gaza Strip, state news agency MENA reported. Renzi, who took on the revolving presidency of the European Union in July, is expected to stay in the Egyptian capital for a few hours, diplomatic sources told MENA. During his visit, the senior diplomat will meet with senior Egyptian government officials to address mutual ties and pressing regional issues, namely the conflict in Gaza and militant violence in Libya. After talks conclude, the two leaders are due to hold a joint a press conference -- al-Sisi's first since he assumed the presidency early in June. Three-week-long hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas have killed more than 1,450 people in Gaza. Sixty-three Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in the fighting. Egypt has invited Israel and the Palestinian Authority to send delegates to Cairo for truce talks, which are expected to begin on Saturday. Italy is Egypt's third biggest trade partner after the US and China. Last month, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini met with al-Sisi in Cairo to discuss the latest regional developments and means to boost cooperation between the two states. Source: Ahram Online
