By Manal Abdel Fattah
Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs, received Mr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, as part of the visit of the Singaporean Minister to Egypt on the 22nd and 23rd of this March.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the meeting dealt with the overall distinguished bilateral relations between Egypt and Singapore, and the remarkable development they have witnessed in recent years, as the two ministers agreed on the importance of maintaining the pace of this positive development in a way that reflects the depth of Historical relations between the two countries.
In this context, Minister Shoukry stressed Egypt’s keen interest in maximizing Singaporean companies’ benefit from investment opportunities in Egypt, especially major projects such as the Suez Canal development axis and the enormous investment opportunities it contains, including many logistical activities, port management, and transit trade, which enjoy Singapore has significant comparative advantages.
For his part, the Foreign Minister of Singapore praised the cooperation with Egypt, expressing his country’s keenness to enhance trade exchange between the two countries and Singaporean investments in Egypt, which reflects the enormous potential available to expand economic cooperation in a way that achieves the interests of both countries. The Singaporean Foreign Minister expressed his country’s aspiration to enhance cooperation with Egypt in the field of renewable energy, agriculture and tourism. The two ministers also discussed the proposal to establish a joint business council to support and foster cooperation between representatives of the private sector in the two countries.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zaid added that the meeting touched on in detail a number of regional and international issues of common concern, most notably the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, where the two ministers discussed ways to advance the truce efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire, as the Singaporean minister was keen to listen to the assessments of the situation. The Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding the latest developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian catastrophe that the Strip’s population has been experiencing since the first moment of the outbreak of the war, and the efforts made by Egypt to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, as well as mediation to reach a ceasefire.
Minister Shukri renewed Egypt’s warning against the continued deterioration of the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, and its categorical rejection of any scenarios targeting the forced displacement of the population of Gaza, the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, as well as any invasion of the Palestinian city of Rafah.
The discussion also touched on the repercussions of the current crisis on the security of the Red Sea, and the resulting serious threats to international navigation and shipping, as the two ministers agreed on the extreme danger of worsening the situation as we are witnessing at the present time, due to its negative repercussions on the Egyptian economy and the security and stability of the region. As well as the consequences of this crisis on the global economy as a whole. The Foreign Minister of Singapore stressed that the safe and sustainable flow of navigation in the Suez Canal is a supreme interest for his country, as he considers it to be the ideal means of transporting his country’s private trade to Europe.
At the end of the meeting, the two ministers agreed on the importance of maintaining the pace of communication in following up on bilateral cooperation programs and proposals, and intensifying consultation on regional and international issues of interest to both countries.
