Author: Liana Toganian

Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met on Sunday with Foreign Minister of Egypt Sameh Shoukry within the framework of his official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt. As the press department at the foreign ministry reported, during the meeting, the Foreign Minister of Armenia noted that this visit was a good opportunity to discuss the issues of bilateral and regional agenda, and to outline the prospects of cooperation.

“The Armenian people are intertwined with Egypt and the Arab world by strong historical and cultural ties, and together they have come a long historical path. Relations between our countries and peoples are a vivid _expression_ of trust and real friendship,” the Minister noted.

Both sides mutually highlighted the historical contribution of the Armenian community to political and social life of Egypt. As the Foreign Minister of Armenia said, the Egyptian-Armenian community is a bridge connecting two countries.

The interlocutors commended the accumulated significant potential of cooperation between Armenia and Egypt and the dynamics of development, emphasizing the need to take steps towards enriching the bilateral multidimensional agenda and to implement joint programs. The sides emphasized the spheres of pharmacy, tourism, high technologies and creative education as perspective directions.

With regards to multilateral cooperation, the Ministers highlighted the importance of closer and consistent contacts, as well as mutual support in international and regional organizations, including within the frameworks of the EAEU and the African Union.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Egypt exchanged views on the ongoing developments in the Middle East, North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and the South Caucasus. In this regard, the importance of strengthening regional peace and stability, the role of international cooperation in neutralizing transnational threats, as well as the peaceful settlement of conflicts, were particularly emphasized.

Ministers Mnatsakanyan and Shoukry highlighted the protection of religious groups as a key sphere of cooperation in the international arena.

The Foreign Ministers also exchanged views on the COVID-19 pandemic and the steps undertaken at the national level to overcome its consequences.

A joint press conference followed the meeting of the Foreign Ministers.
Asked by reporters to assess the behavior of Turkey in the Caucasus and Eastern Mediterranean, Minister Mnatsakanyan said: “During the events in July, Turkey has been the only country that was taking a one-sided, very aggressive approach: one-sided in support of Azerbaijan, and aggressive approach toward Armenia and the Armenian people, in rhetoric at all levels and in action. Of course we see the military build-up that they are attempting. We are hearing about the use of the foreign terrorist fighters to be transferred to Azerbaijan or maybe they are already transferred. We see the heavy military presence, the build-up. These are exactly the moves which undermine the effort toward peace and stability in the region. We are resolute in our defense and we will also resolutely deny any such policies which project power, which are aggressive in their nature and which are of destabilizing nature. We see this power projection from Eastern Mediterranean to North Africa, to the Middle East and to the South Caucasus as well. So these are not welcomed policies at all.”