During his visit to New York to participate in the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met on Monday with his counterpart of Norway Anniken Huitfeldt and Maltese Minister of Foreign, European, and Trade Affairs Ian Borg. Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the meeting with the Norwegian Foreign Minister focused on following the course of bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them. Minister Shoukry welcomed the current momentum in the investment direction of Norwegian companies in Egypt, in the fields of clean energy, green hydrogen production and chemical industries, and looking forward to expanding these investments to include promising sectors such as food and agricultural industries, natural gas liquefaction, shipping and others. The meeting also discussed the trilateral cooperation between the Egyptian sovereign fund and the Norwegian sovereign fund to implement development projects in a number of African countries, in addition to Norwegian support for development projects and programs in Egypt. Regarding the meeting with the Maltese foreign minister, ambassador Abu Zeid said that the two ministers welcomed the progress made in intensifying the mechanisms of political consultation between the two sides by upgrading the frequency of mutual visits at all levels, and pushing forward the strengthening of economic and trade cooperation. Shoukry welcomed the signing of the founding agreement of the Mediterranean cooperative network of sovereign wealth funds in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa between Egypt's sovereign investment and Development Fund, Malta State Investment Company, and the French Bpifrance fund last March. The Foreign Minister congratulated his Maltese counterpart on the proximity of his country's membership in the Security Council, stressing Egypt's full readiness to coordinate with Malta on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Later on Monday, Shoukry met with Dutch Foreign Minister Vopke Hoekstra, where various aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed. Abu Zeid stated that Minister Shoukry stressed the aspiration to strengthen the various files of bilateral cooperation between Egypt and the Netherlands, stressing the importance of pumping more investments in light of the attractive investment climate in Egypt, especially in the fields of green transformation. Shoukry was keen to respond to his Dutch counterpart's inquiries about the arrangements for the upcoming climate summit COP27, reviewing the most important features and objectives of the Egyptian presidency's vision for the conference, and the need for the international community to agree on a clear action plan that achieves the goals and aspirations of international climate action. The two sides also discussed the process of preparation for the UN conference for the midterm comprehensive review of the implementation of the water action contract, in which the Netherlands plays an important coordinating role. Furthermore ,the two sides discussed the developments of the Ukrainian crisis and its economic impact on developing countries and African countries in particular, and the current international geostrategic situation.
