Egypt's Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, held political consultations with Benin's Foreign Minister, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, on Tuesday, to discuss ways to support bilateral relations and address challenges facing the African continent. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ambassador Tamim Khallaf stated that Minister Abdelatty welcomed the Beninese Foreign Minister's visit, which comes within the framework of the political consultation mechanism signed between the two countries in February 2000. Abdelatty expressed interest in enhancing economic cooperation and trade exchange between the two nations, and elevating cooperation in various fields including construction, infrastructure, tourism, culture, electricity and renewable energy, sanitation, pharmaceuticals, cotton and textiles, and agro-industrial and food processing. The Foreign Minister, in this context, emphasised the interest of Egyptian private sector companies in entering the Beninese market, highlighting the expertise of Egyptian companies in infrastructure, energy, and construction projects in various African countries. Minister Abdelatty also welcomed Benin's participation in training courses offered by the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD), noting that Benin has benefited from 208 training courses with a total of 366 trainees. He also pointed to existing cooperation in combating terrorism and extremist ideology, whether through Al-Azhar Al-Sharif missions and the training of preachers and imams, or through training courses provided by the Agency. Minister Abdelatty stressed Egypt's keenness on achieving security and stability in the Sahel and West Africa region, affirming support for Benin in its counter-terrorism efforts, especially since the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel region impacts all countries in the area, including Sudan, Libya, and the states bordering the Gulf of Guinea. The spokesperson added that the Foreign Minister briefed his Beninese counterpart on developments in the Middle East and Egypt's mediation efforts to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza. He also addressed the parameters of Egypt's position on the crisis in Sudan, and developments in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region, affirming Egypt's commitment to participating in the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) as part of supporting stability in the Horn of Africa. At the end of the consultations, the two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in diplomatic training, to train a number of Beninese diplomats at the Institute for Diplomatic Studies affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They also signed an MoU for the mutual exemption of entry visas for holders of official passports, to facilitate and expedite mutual visits for further strengthening relations between the two countries.
