Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asserted on Monday the necessity of international cooperation to face terrorism and the urgency of putting countries that haven proven to be providers of financing and weaponry to terrorists into accountability. Sisi's statement came during his meeting with the French Defense Minister Sylvie Goulard who is currently in an official visit to Egypt. He further noted that the danger of terrorism has overflowed the Middle East region and reached the entire world. Moreover, Sisi praised the vital role played by Egypt's largest Muslim beacon of Al-Azhar in facing and curbing all the extremist ideologies, in addition to its leading role in spreading the right teachings of Islam. The meeting between Sisi and Goulard that took place at the Presidential Palace, in the presence of the Egyptian Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi and the French Ambassador in Cairo André Parant. "The French Defense Minister asserted that her visit to Egypt came as an implementation step to the agreement held between Sisi and his French counterpart Macron in a bilateral phone call following the terrorist Minya attack," said Alaa Yousef, the Egyptian Presidency spokesperson. He added that Sisi expressed his congratulations to the French Defense Minister, as she recently undertook the position, adding that Egypt is looking forward to enhance co-operation and partnership with France in all fields. In the same context, the French Defense Minister renewed her condolences over the Minya Coptic bus attack, pointing out that Egypt is considered an important partner to France in the Middle East. Meanwhile, she praised the recent quantum leap that appeared in the military co-operation between Egypt and France, asserting France's keenness to foster co-operation in this field. The meeting discussed the recent developments in a number of Middle East countries currently in turmoil, such as Libya and Syria. Here, Sisi asserted the importance of international co-operation to facilitate political solutions to these countries' crises and save their unity. Source: Al-Marsry al-youm
