France, Egypt Ink Partnership Deals

Human rights issues dominated on Monday a press conference held by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the end of their discussions in Cairo.

The French leader had criticized the diminishing of human rights in Egypt, but stressed that "stability and lasting peace go hand in hand with respect for individual freedoms, dignity of everyone and the rule of law."

This prompted a retort by Sisi, who said: “We’re not like Europe, nor the United States, we are a country or a region that has its own characteristics.”

“Egypt does not advance through bloggers. It advances through the work, effort and perseverance of its sons,” he declared.

He hailed the strength of ties between Cairo and Paris, hailing the recent flurry of contacts between the two sides on political, military, security, economic and cultural issues. He also lauded the high level of coordination between them on regional and international affairs.

“Civil society groups in Egypt are exerting efforts to develop human rights on the basis of their deep understanding of historic, cultural and heritage factors,” said Sisi.

He stressed the need to tackle rights affairs from a comprehensive standpoint, highlighting the right of the people to life, security and freedom of expression. This includes the right to food and drink, healthcare, education and decent housing.

These are issues that Egypt prioritizes towards the citizens, he declared.

The Egyptian themselves will assess the extent of political, economic and social rights that they enjoy, he added.

“The challenges were are facing, such as terrorism, must not distract us from protecting our people,” he said.

Addressing regional affairs, Sisi and Macron discussed the crises in Libya and Syria, as well as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and situation in the Sahel region.

Macron said that Egypt is a main partner for France in the region, saying that the two sides shared common stances on several regional and international affairs.

The two sides have been working together for several months to address the situation in Libya, he continued.

“We seek to combat terrorism in Libya and support reconciliations efforts,” he added, saying that these two factors are the only way to restore stability in the region.

Reconciliation efforts are being coordinated with UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, added Macron.

Macron had kicked off his three-day visit to Egypt on Sunday.

His delegation includes government ministers, two dozen representatives from academic, cultural, and scientific fields, and a dozen business leaders — including the heads of Rafale producer Dassault.

During his trip officials signed 40 trade deals and development agreements worth an estimated total of 1.6 billion euros, covering sectors including transport, energy, health and telecoms, Egypt’s investment ministry said in a statement. France extended a 60 million euro loan and a 2 million euro grant to support development projects.