Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi expressed his appreciation for the strong relations between Egypt and Uzbekistan in a press conference with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his first official visit to Egypt. Al-Sisi said that the talks with the President of Uzbekistan, dealt with the stability of cooperation and the continuation of mutual support in international forums, expressing his appreciation for the relations between Egypt and Uzbekistan. "We also agreed to quickly convene a joint committee for economic, scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries as soon as possible to turn what we agreed upon through the committee into a fast track for cooperation in various fields," he added. The president noted that he and his Uzbek counterpart agreed on the importance of security and information cooperation in the field of combating terrorism and extremism, which is an issue in which Egypt is keen to cooperate with Uzbekistan, within the framework of the threat this ideology poses to security and stability in the whole world. "We know your great country on the historical level, as the country beyond the two rivers, and we know Samarkand and the city of Bukhara, and Imam Al-Bukhari, Imam Al-Tirmidhi and Zamakhshari as great Muslim scholars," Al-Sisi said speaking to Mirziyoyev. The president added, "Ahmed Al-Farghani and the Ibn Tulun Mosque are also among the beautiful signs found in Egypt for Uzbekistan, and Egypt was the first Arab country to recognise the independence of Uzbekistan in 1991, and also the first Arab country to establish diplomatic relations and open its embassy in Tashkent in 1993." Moreover, President Al-Sisi praised the moderate and balanced role played by Al-Azhar Al-Sharif through teaching Islam and receiving Uzbek students to teach them Islam. "There was consensus on issues of common concern, agreeing on the importance of finding a solution to the Palestinian Cause, the two-state solution on the borders of 4th of June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital, and also finding a political solution to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict because of its effects on the whole world," the president said. He explained, "We also agreed on the importance of finding a solution to the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and encouraging the Ethiopian side to sign a legally binding agreement on filling and operating the dam."
