President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met on Monday with the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte where they discussed the latest developments in the investigation of the case of the Italian student Giulio Regeni. Both leaders met on the side-lines of the EU-Arab League summit, which was held in Sharm El-Sheikh from Saturday to Monday.Both leaders discussed the cooperation between Egypt and Italy to reveal the circumstances of the case, Rady added. The 28-year-old PhD student was found dead on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road in January 2016. He was conducting a research on the nature of political and economic developments in Egypt and particularly on labour unions. The two leaders also discussed "boosting cooperation between both countries in fighting terrorism and illegal migration," the presidential spokesperson, Bassam Rady said. The Italian Prime Minister stressed Egypt's efforts on fighting terrorism and illegal migration, in partnership with the EU. The two leaders also exchanged talks about the development of economic, trade, and investment relations between the two countries, as well as "the development of the Suez Canal Axis, and energy trading projects." On the regional and international issues, the two leaders also discussed the latest developments in the Libyan crisis. President Al-Sisi asserted that a political solution is needed to solve the civil war in Libya. The summit tackled the issues of common interest to the Arab and European countries, including the peace process in the Middle East, the crises in Libya, Syria and Yemen, fighting terrorism and authorised cooperation, as well as reaching permanent solutions to maintain security and peace in the region. The summit also addressed multilateralism, trade and investment, migration, security, and the situation in the region. On the same day, Al-Sisi Egypt's asserted his support for keeping Lebanon out of regional conflicts to maintain security of the entire Middle East region. The president made the remarks during a meeting with the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The president congratulated Hariri on forming a new government and wished him success in maintaining his country's security and stability. Hariri, meanwhile, appreciated efforts exerted by Egypt in support of Lebanon in different fields. The two sides reviewed the possibility of making use of the Egyptian expertise in a number of fields, such as electricity, infrastructure and energy projects. They stressed the importance of enhancing the trade relations between Egypt and Lebanon and increasing the volume of mutual investments, the spokesperson added. The president also asserted Egypt's keenness on boosting relations with the EU, particularly in the economic field. The president made the remarks during a meeting with President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker “The EU is Egypt's number-one trade partner,” as Rady quoted Al-Sisi. The president further stressed the importance of increasing the European investments in Egypt in the coming period. On the other hand, Juncker hailed the EU's strong relations with Egypt, saying that the European bloc is keen on going ahead with boosting the cooperation ties with Egypt at all levels in the coming period. He further praised the efforts exerted by Egypt to achieve economic development and fighting terrorism and illegal migration. He added that the EU will continue to coordinate with Egypt regarding regional and international issues in light of Egypt's presidency of the African Union. The two sides also discussed the latest developments of the Libyan and Syrian crises and stressed the importance of maintaining Arab-European coordination in order to overcome common challenges.
