Roundup: Sisi, Hollande stress need to boost cooperation as economic deals signed

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his visiting French counterpart Francois Hollande stressed the necessity to boost mutual cooperation as a number of economic cooperation agreements were signed on Monday, Egypt's official Ahram online news service reported.

The two leaders have signed a number of financial deals worth more than 1.7 billion U.S. dollars, as well as memorandums of understandings in the fields of transport, energy, renewable energy, gas and tourism.

At the opening of Monday's Franco-Egyptian economic forum, Sisi said his country is looking forward to a partnership with French corporations on major national projects such as the Suez Canal Development.

"We are working seriously to provide all foreign investors with a more attractive environment within the government's inclusive development vision until 2030," Sisi said.

The European country is Egypt's ninth largest trading partner, with a total trade volume worth 2.6 billion euros (2.94 billion U.S. dollars) and total investments worth 4.86 billion dollars last year.

Hollande arrived in Egypt on Sunday for a visit. He came to Cairo from Beirut as the second stop of his three-nation tour that will also take him to Jordan.

Meanwhile, Hollande said during his speech at the forum that Paris chose to fully support Cairo in order to position both countries' relations towards long-term projects.

The French president pointed out that there are already 150 branches of French companies operating in Egypt with 35,000 Egyptian employees, adding that France is Egypt's sixth largest foreign investor and plans to increase its investments in the country.

According to a statement released by the Egyptian presidency late on Sunday, the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr has signed financial agreements with the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) worth a total of more than 339 million dollars.

The two leaders also discussed a number of regional issues including a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis, security in Libya and Yemen as well as the two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Also on Monday, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail held a meeting with Hollande, during which they discussed business and investment matters.

Hollande told Ismail that there is readiness by French companies to increase investments in Egypt in several fields, including infrastructure, energy, electricity tourism, culture, agriculture and water treatment, according to Ahram online.

After the meeting, Hollande, accompanied by Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled el Anani, visited the Coptic museum and the Cairo Citadel.

During the visit, Hollande called on tourists from various nations to visit Egypt, asserting the country has been always enjoying a state of peace, security, and tolerance.

Hollande has also visited the Egyptian parliament, the first of its kind by a French head of state, and met with Speaker Ali Abdel Aaal. Endit