Online Desk: Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud meet with Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt on May 4, on the sidelines of their participation in the work of the fifteenth session of the Islamic Summit Conference currently being held in Gambia.

According to a report of the Al Ahram newspaper, Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and Director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, stated that the two ministers stressed during the meeting the close historical relations that bring together the two countries, and expressed their aspiration to improve these relations by developing frameworks of cooperation in various fields.

The two ministers also expressed their aspiration to strengthen cooperation within multilateral frameworks, especially since the two countries enjoy membership in a number of organizations and groupings, most notably the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Group of Eight Developing Countries, and the Non-Aligned Movement.

In this context, Minister Shoukry expressed Egypt’s interest in enhancing trade exchange between the two countries and encouraging the establishment of joint projects in free economic zones in Egypt, specifically in the Suez Canal Special Economic Zone, due to its promising and diverse investment opportunities.

The Foreign Minister also appreciated Bangladesh’s humanitarian role by bearing the burden of hosting more than one million Rohingya refugees, expressing Egypt’s support in this regard, through the contributions of the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development and Al-Azhar Al-Sharif.

Abu Zeid revealed that part of the meeting dealt with areas of coordination between the two sides in international forums, where the two ministers praised the level of coordination and cooperation as it exists.

The official spokesman concluded his statements by noting that the two ministers exchanged views and assessments regarding a number of regional and international issues of common concern, most notably the developments in the situation in Gaza and the Egyptian efforts aimed at resolving the crisis, as well as the tensions in the Red Sea region and their repercussions on international navigation and trade.

At the end of the meeting, the two ministers agreed to continue consultations to maintain the pace of communication between the two sides, and to coordinate positions on regional and international issues of common interest, as well as within multilateral frameworks.