CAIRO: Egypt`s Prime Minister Kamal Ganzoury met with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Carl Scheuer Senberj with the goal of creating support for the Egyptian-Czech cooperation in trade, investment and the future of joint cooperation into future stages, the country's Cabinet said on Monday evening. Senberj stated after the meeting, which was attended by Amr Helmy, Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs, the Egyptian–Czech Business Council will be held to discuss how to further joint projects in Egypt and further dialogue with the government for expansion in investment and double the volume of bilateral trade and increase the number of tourists from the Czech Republic to Egypt as well as the resumption of flights between the two countries. Senberj explained that Czech investments in Egypt are estimated at about $60 million and described the Egyptian–Czech relations as “historic” and dates back 95 years, pointing to his country's “support for the transformation to democracy and for the Egyptian economy.” He described the transition period in any country as “always difficult” and said that Egypt can take advantage of the experiences of other countries in this matter. Mohammed Amr, Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs called for promoting bilateral economic ties and trade exchange between Egypt and the Czech Republic. He also urged the Czech government to encourage tourism companies to double flights to Egypt, confirming stability in the country and stressed the importance of tourism as one of the main sources of income in Egypt. Amr Roshdy, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said that the minister “had expressed during his talks with his Czech counterpart … Egypt's aspiration to restore the high rates of tourists from Czech Republic, as well as for the resumption of Czech Airlines flights to Egypt.” He also called for bilateral cooperation in the field of demining in the Western Desert of Egypt, especially in light of the Czech`s special expertise in this area, pointing to the benefits of development in the Western Desert if it can be cleared of landmines.
