By Manal Abdel Fattah
Ambassador Christian Berger, the European Union’s ambassador to Egypt, said that shipping lanes in the Red Sea must be opened, and Houthi attacks on ships must be put to an end.
The ambassador added: We call for an end to these attacks and the release of ships to secure navigation routes in the Red Sea to preserve freedom of passage.
This came during a press conference, today, Wednesday, at his residence in Cairo, where he discussed the harvest and activities of Egyptian-European cooperation in 2023, and indicators of bilateral cooperation in 2024.
Regarding the situation in Gaza, the ambassador said: The European Union is cooperating closely in this matter, noting that there is a daily flight from the European Union carrying medical tools or food commodities that are delivered to the Egyptian authorities and then Gaza.
He announced that 26 flights have arrived so far at Al-Arish International Airport, and that aid to Gaza has been tripled, reaching 125 million euros.
The ambassador denied linking granting Egypt 10 billion euros to the forced displacement of Palestinians, stressing that the matter is only related to deepening strategic relations with Egypt.
He said: It is an investment plan for the European Union that starts with one billion euros and reaches 9.8 billion euros in the form of investments in European companies located in Cairo and soft loans, stressing that the matter began last year.
