Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and EU foreign policy Chief Federica Mogherini affirmed the importance of Egyptian-EU relations during their meeting in Cairo Tuesday. Presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef said Mogherini's visit aims to enahnce relations between Egypt and the European Union and to exchange points of view regarding several regional issues. Mogherini congratulated Egypt on its potential new parliament, hoping it will continue collaboration with the European parliament. She also congratulated Egypt for securing a UN Security Council seat during the 2016-2017 round. She and Al-Sisi discussed the Libyan crisis, and Mogherini applauded Egyptian efforts to encourage Libyan parties to form a national unity government, according to a statement released by the Egyptian presidency. Al-Sisi highlighted the importance of supporting the Libyan national army by lifting the embargo on arms, which will help the army to confront terrorism. Mogherini also met with Fayez Saraj, designated Prime Minister of the Transition Government in Libya in Cairo on Tuesday, where they discussed a political solution to the crisis in line with UN Special Envoy Bernardino Leon's proposal. During her two-day visit to Egypt, Mogherini met with Egyptian Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar and discussed confronting illegal immigration. She called for more collaboration in this field, especially after the recent refugee influx into Europe. Abdel Ghaffar spoke about the Interior Ministry's effort to fight terrorism and extremism and reduce illegal immigration by cracking down on smugglers, according to an official statement.
