PM's official visit to Cairo bolsters Malaysia-Egypt ties

CAIRO: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's visit to Cairo has strengthened Malaysia-Egypt relations, paving the way for new avenues of investment and cooperation between the two nations.

Anwar completed his four-day official visit to Egypt yesterday, undertaken at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, reinforcing bilateral ties and fostering opportunities for mutual economic growth.

As a result of the bilateral meeting between Anwar and El-Sisi during the Prime Minister's courtesy call on El-Sisi at the Al-Ittihadiya Palace, both leaders agreed to elevate the existing bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership in the future.

"This visit has overall achieved its objectives, which include further enhancing bilateral cooperation towards upgrading Malaysia-Egypt relations to a Strategic Partnership in the future.

"This visit also provided an opportunity for Malaysia to express its stance and reach agreements with Egypt in addressing various current global issues, including the Palestine-Israel crisis," Anwar told Malaysian journalists on the last day of his visit before departing for Peru for an official visit.

Regarding the Palestine issue, both leaders strongly condemned Israel's violence against the Palestinian people, and Malaysia and Egypt will continue to work together to push for an immediate cessation of attacks on Palestine and Lebanon.

During the visit, which coincided with the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Egypt, both leaders also agreed and committed to finding a permanent solution towards a sovereign Palestinian state.

Additionally, Anwar fully utilised his meeting with El-Sisi to express Malaysia's intention, as the chair of ASEAN next year, to make the ASEAN Summit a regional dialogue platform, including cooperation with Egypt as the founder of the African Union.

"Egypt is confident that Malaysia will play an important role in strengthening regional cooperation and joint development," said Anwar.

Meanwhile, as a result of a roundtable session attended by 47 leading Egyptian companies and 17 Malaysian companies during Anwar's visit to explore business cooperation opportunities and position Egypt as a market hub for the Middle East and North Africa, an export potential of approximately RM4.8 billion was generated.

This reflects great opportunities in high-value innovation sectors, as outlined in Malaysia's New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030," said Anwar.

-- BERNAMA

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