Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on September 23rd on the sidelines of the high-level segment of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral relations and discussing regional issues of mutual concern. Abdelatty expressed Egypt's pride in the strong bilateral relations between the two countries and its commitment to strengthening and expanding these ties. He highlighted the recent visit of the Singaporean Foreign Minister to Cairo in March 2024 and Egypt's hosting of the fifth round of political consultations between the two countries in February 2024. He also noted the upcoming 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Abdelatty emphasised Egypt's desire to deepen existing cooperation between Al-Azhar, the prestigious Islamic institution in Egypt, and Singaporean Islamic institutions. He underscored the significant role of Al-Azhar in promoting the values of moderate Islam and countering extremism and terrorism. He expressed Egypt's willingness to provide further support to Singapore in this vital area. Turning to economic cooperation, Abdelatty expressed Egypt's satisfaction with the recent increase in Singaporean investments, noting that Singapore has become the fifth largest Asian investor in Egypt. He emphasised Egypt's commitment to encouraging foreign investment and promoting the attractive investment and commercial opportunities offered by the Egyptian market. Abdelatty added that Egypt is keen to explore opportunities for joint cooperation in environmental protection, sustainable development, and desalination, recognizing Singapore's expertise in these areas, and expressed hope for collaboration in these priority fields for Egypt. Abdelatty briefed Minister Balakrishnan on the latest regional developments, reiterating Egypt's rejection of attempts to eliminate the Palestinian cause and any scenarios aimed at displacing Palestinians from their homeland. He stressed the need for continued pressure on Israel to reach a ceasefire agreement, halt the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, and remove all obstacles hindering this process. He emphasised the importance of intensifying efforts to prevent the region from sliding into a full-scale regional war.
