Egypt's House of Representatives Speaker Ali Abdel Aal visited the Swiss parliament in Bern on Monday, the first visit of its kind by an Egyptian parliament speaker.
Abdel Aal said during the visit that he chose to begin with the Swiss parliament as it is one of the most important and deep-rooted European parliaments, retaining neutrality throughout its history.
Secretary General of the House of Representatives Ahmed Saad Eddin accompanied Abdel Aal on his visit. The Egyptian officials met with the President of the National Council of Switzerland Christina Markwalder in the presence of Egypt's Ambassador to Switzerland Saher Hamza.
Abdel Aal's discussions with Markwalder focused on cooperation between the two parliaments in different fields, including the empowerment of women and youth, laying the foundations of democracy and building a state based on the rule of law.
They also discussed cooperation on fighting terrorism.
Abdel Aal called for Switzerland's cooperation with Egypt to return public funds smuggled to Switzerland by Mubarak-era officials.
Markwalder said that Switzerland is awaiting a final ruling on the misappropriated money, which was placed in Swiss bank accounts, to make sure that it was indeed removed from Egypt illegally. She also praised Egypt's role in the fight against terrorism.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
