Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met on Saturday evening with Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs in the state of Kuwait, at the beginning of his current visit to Kuwait to participate in the consultative meeting of Arab foreign ministers. Ahmed Hafez, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that during the meeting, Shoukry stressed the strong relations that unite the two brotherly countries and peoples and the importance of continuing to work on developing areas of bilateral cooperation in line with the roots of relations and the directives of the leaders of the two countries to advance their path. In this regard, the minister expressed Egypt's aspiration to host the thirteenth session of the Joint Ministerial Committee this year under the chairmanship of the two foreign ministers as the most comprehensive framework for strengthening the various aspects of relations between the two countries. Shoukry also touched on what Egypt is witnessing from the development boom and unprecedented national projects in parallel with the continuation of the implementation of a radical programme of economic reform. He stressed the importance of benefiting Kuwaiti investments from this boom and the current investment environment in Egypt from preferential incentives. The minister also praised the role of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development in supporting development projects and plans in Egypt. Furthermore, Shoukry expressed appreciation for the generous patronage received by the Egyptian community from the state of Kuwait and its leadership, praising the role of this community as a bridge for communication between the two countries and the two brotherly peoples. He praised Kuwait's presidency of the current session of the Council of the Arab League and its hosting of the Arab foreign ministers' consultative meeting on Sunday in order to strengthen the mechanisms of consultation and coordination among Arab countries. The meeting also dealt with the positions of the two countries on the current regional challenges and highlighted issues of concern on both sides, including the situation in Lebanon, and the follow-up and coordination of relevant Arab efforts. Shoukry stressed Egypt's firm position of rejecting any interference in the affairs of Arab countries and Egypt's support for the security and stability of Arab Gulf states as it is closely related to Egyptian national security. For his part, Al-Sabah stressed his country's appreciation of Egypt's role as a key pillar of security and stability in the region, expressing Kuwait's support for Egypt's tangible development boom and for all that preserves Egypt's security and stability, and achieves the interests of the two countries and their aspirations towards greater prosperity and development.
