Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Kamel Amr met with the French President Françoise Hollande on Thursday morning in Paris. According to an official statement from the Foreign Ministry, Kamel Amr and Hollande spoke about Egypt, the Syrian crisis, the Sahel, Sahara and the ongoing preparations for the French African summit. Kamel Amr delivered a message from President Mohamed Morsi to Hollande, emphasising the depth of relations between Egypt and France. Both parties are said to have spoken at length about Egypt, although no details of the meeting have been released. In regards to Syria, Kamel Amr said Egypt believes that the solution to the crisis should be a political solution to guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria and the unity of the Syrian society, supporting the efforts made by the Syrian National Coalition's leader Moaz Al-Khatib. The foreign minister also spoke about Mali, saying it was important to address the situation within a “comprehensive financial perspective" that tackles the various dimensions and the roots of the conflict in order to avoid a recurrence of the crisis. Kamel Amr told Hollande that Egypt is ready to participate in the reconstruction efforts in post-war Mali, aiding in the development of the economy “and the fight against extremist ideology" as a member of the African peacekeeping corps. Hollande also spoke about the preparations being made for the upcoming French African summit, set to take place before the end of the year. It will be chaired jointly by France and Egypt and will be proceeded y a preparatory meeting in Cairo on a ministerial level.
