site.btaUPDATED Foreign Minister Holds Tete-a-tete Meeting with Egyptian Counterpart

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel held a one-on-one meeting with her Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. Gabriel was paying a visitn to Cairo on Saturday.

At a joint news briefing after the meeting, Gabriel said that for Bulgaria, energy security is of particular importance. “We want to join efforts not only to see how to jointly ensure the deliveries but also expand the market,” she commented. Earlier in the day, Bulgaria and Egypt signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of natural gas.

“Today, we send a very strong signal: that we have excellent relations as well as that for us, it is important to maintain the political dialogue at the highest level,” she noted. “My main messages are for stronger cooperation, connectivity and strategic development,” she added. In her words, the sides confirmed the commitment to strengthen the political dialogue and upgrade their strategic partnership to another level. They discussed the big potential for cooperation in economy, trade, and investment.

“We have good positions to deepen our partnerships and become a regional energy transport innovation and investment centre,” she also said. The sides agreed to improve many activities related to the development of the private sector and support for SMEs through promotion of startups mostly in the field of innovation, digital and green economy. 

Among the important topics the sides focused on were defence, agriculture, tourism, and social contacts, Gabriel said. Bulgaria will continue to support Egypt in the finalization of its strategic partnerships with the EU, she noted.

Sameh Shoukry said that his country and Bulgaria have common interests in stability. The sides discussed the existing bilateral cooperation as well as the options for its development, he noted. Also discussed were options for cooperation in economy as well as where Egypt could be of assistance. “We agreed on cooperation in the field of energy and transport of energy resources,” he specified.

Also on the agenda of the meeting was the visa regime for diplomats and holders of service passports as well as cooperation in defence. “We also discussed matters of sea cooperation as well as security in the Red Sea. The situation in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine was also discussed, the Egyptian Foreign Minister said. 

Earlier on Saturday, Gabriel arrived in Cairo with the delegation she led for a tour of Egypt's new administrative capital. She met with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

Egypt's new administrative capital is about 45 kilometres east of Cairo. Some 30 ministries, parliament, agencies and embassies are located there. Egyptian authorities announced the transfer of state institutions to the new administrative capital in the summer of 2023. Its construction began in 2015 and its total area is 700 square kilometres. Twenty residential complexes are planned, which are expected to house 6.5 million people. The aim of the project is to ease traffic in the capital Cairo, home to some 22 million people.