Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met on Friday with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany. The meeting addressed means of coordination between Egypt and the UN on various regional issues, according to a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abou Zeid. During the meeting, Shoukry expressed Egypt's aspiration to provide all forms of support to the UN in the face of the growing turbulent situation in the region, noting the importance of the UN sponsorship for peace talks and efforts, especially in Syria and Libya. Guterres expressed aspiration for Egypt's support of the UN's efforts in Syria, through employing its contacts with all sides to encourage them to better respond and be more flexible to the efforts of UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, according to the statement. On the sidelines of the conference, Shoukry discussed the security cooperation between Egypt and Germany during a meeting with German Minister of Defence Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen. The two ministers also discussed countering terrorism and illegal immigration. During the meeting, Shoukry reviewed Egypt's efforts in countering terrorism, and he expressed his country's hope for more support from Germany in controlling borders. He also briefed the German minister on the results of the military operation "Sinai 2018". Shoukry also discussed bilateral relations between Egypt and Sudan with his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour in Munich, according to Abou Zeid. Another meeting gathered Shoukry with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, in which they addressed relations between the two countries and regional issues. The Egyptian minister also discussed bilateral relations with First Vice President of South Sudan Taban Deng Gai. They discussed the situation in South Sudan, and Shoukry expressed Egypt's keenness on completing the political process in the country.
