Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty lauded on Wednesday 25 /12/2024 Egyptian-Tunisian ties.He made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Tunisian counterpart Mohamed Ali Nafti. He welcomed Nafti, lauding the amicable ties between the two countries.
He referred to the good ties between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied, especially after the Tunisian president’s visit to Egypt in April 2021.
Abdelatty highlighted the two leaderships’ directives to further bilateral ties, especially in such watershed stage in the region.
He added that the talks with Nafti underscored that the two countries share the same vision on the importance of enhancing bilateral ties.
Abdelatty pointed out that during his talks with his Tunisian counterpart, it was agreed to further develop relations and hold more political consultations within the coming period whether at the level of the political consultation committee headed by the two countries’ foreign ministers, the trade and economic committee, or the Supreme Committee headed by prime ministers in implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Tunisian President Kais Saied.
These cooperation frameworks and mechanisms would be activated, and cultural relations between the two countries would be strengthened, the top diplomat said, announcing that the first half of next year would witness a major boom in terms of the convocation of these committees and mechanisms.
Abdelatty agreed with his Tunisian counterpart to further strengthen economic relations and cooperation between the private sector in priority sectors, such as new and renewable energy.
The talks touched on many regional and international files, he said, expressing Egypt’s appreciation for the position taken by Tunisia during its tenure as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council regarding defending Egypt’s water rights as an existential issue for Egypt.
He appreciated Tunisia’s support for the Egyptian candidate to the position of Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Discussions also addressed the importance of activating joint Arab action within the framework of the Arab League and joint African action.
Abdelatty said discussions with his Tunisian counterpart addressed the Palestinian issue as the primary Arab issue, as well as the catastrophic conditions in the Gaza Strip and the efforts made by Egypt in cooperation with Qatar to quickly reach an agreement stipulating an immediate cessation of Israeli aggression, a ceasefire, and full and unconditional access to aid to the Strip.
In addition, the minister also briefed his Tunisian counterpart on the Egyptian efforts made between Hamas and Fatah movements, and the rest of the Palestinian factions to reach an understanding and a consensus to achieve Palestinian reconciliation.
The top diplomat said talks also tackled the situation in the West Bank in light of the illegal Israeli practices in addition to the situation in Syria where they exchanged views on this file that concerns Egypt, Tunisia and the Arab world.
He said the meeting touched on supporting Syria and the importance of preserving the institutions of the Syrian state.
The Libyan crisis and the importance of working to accelerate the holding of elections as well as the situation in Sudan and the need to reach an immediate ceasefire were also discussed in detail.
For his part, Tunisian foreign minister Mohamed Ali Nafti expressed the keenness of the leaderships of the two countries to coordinate and consult continuously to develop bilateral cooperation according to the available capabilities.
Nafti said discussions addressed the current and accelerating regional developments and the challenges that now require intensifying consultation and unifying ranks to better confront them to serve Arab, Islamic and Africa issues.
He added that the talks addressed developments in the situation in Syria, the importance of preserving Syria’s unity and respecting the will of the Syrian people who alone have the right to choose their fate without any external interference.
Talks also addressed the Palestinian issue and the need to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people, and enable them to receive aid without any restrictions or preconditions.
He also expressed Tunisia’s deep appreciation of the Egyptian government and people for the valuable efforts they exert to help the Palestinian people which was clearly manifested during the international ministerial conference to enhance humanitarian response to Gaza that was recently hosted by Cairo.
