President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Monday. The President expressed Egypt’s appreciation for Italy’s position in support of Egypt’s efforts to fight terrorism. He also acknowledged the swift reaction by senior Italian officials, particularly the Prime Minister, to the explosion that took place at the Italian Consulate in Cairo.

The President affirmed that the recent terrorist acts that have taken place in a number of countries demonstrate that all terrorist and extremist groups are ideologically derived from the same source and that they are closely connected logistically and organizationally. It is therefore imperative to confront all groups, rather than single any one out, confront their terrorist acts throughout the region without exception, halt the influx of money and arms to these groups and tackle the recruitment of foreign fighters, who join their ranks.

Foreign Minister Gentiloni conveyed the greetings of Italy’s Prime Minister, noting that his country views the explosion as a failed attempt to undermine the strong friendship that Egypt and Italy share. He stressed that such incidents will only strengthen relations between the two countries. Mr. Gentiloni appreciated that the restoration costs of the damaged consulate building will be covered by the Egyptian government. He also praised the swift response of the Egyptian authorities in tightening security around Italian diplomatic and consulate offices in Egypt. The President stressed Egypt’s commitment to protecting the offices of diplomatic missions and consulates in the country.

On the Libyan crisis, the President noted the importance of urgently addressing the dangerous situation in the country, pointing out that Egypt has warned of the consequences of the deteriorating security situation. He added that the international community should have acted swiftly on Egypt’s call to support the Libyan army and halt the flow of money, arms and foreign fighters to terrorist groups in Libya so as to prevent the exacerbation of the situation in the country.

In this regard, the Italian minister commended the peace and reconciliation agreement signed recently in Rabat on the Libyan crisis. He expressed Italy’s hope that all Libyan parties join it and use it as a foundation to end the Libyan crisis and restore security and stability to its people. He stressed that Italy was keen on coordinating with Egypt on the Libyan crisis.

They also addressed the issue of illegal immigration. The President underscored the importance of combating this phenomenon, noting that Egypt hosts millions of refugees from a number of Arab and African countries, with the immense burden that this places on the Egyptian economy. He added that dialogue and cooperation should be intensified between northern and southern Mediterranean countries to prevent the further exacerbation of the problem.  The President highlighted the importance of the developmental dimension to tackle the economic and social root causes of the issue.

The Italian Foreign Minister underscored his county’s strong position in support of Egypt and its efforts to combat terrorism. He also underscored his country’s continued commitment to cooperating with Egypt on illegal immigration, particularly because Mediterranean countries bear the brunt of this problem.

##