Cairo, Feb 1 (CTK special correspondent) – Egypt is interested in Czech help in fighting terrorism, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi on Monday and added that Sisi expressed Egypt’s joy at Czech tourists flowing to the country.
Zaoralek said Sisi told him about the efforts Egypt has taken to secure the safety of its holiday resorts visited by foreigners.
Zaoralek invited Sisi to Prague. The visit might take place this spring, he said.
“The Egyptians strongly appreciate our interest in the joint fight against terrorism. This is a crucial matter for them and they are interested in Czech help in this respect,” Zaoralek said.
He said the atmosphere of the meeting was very friendly.
“Although it may seem that the Czech Republic is situated aside the tragic events, we side with Egypt,” Zaoralek said, referring to terrorism and the anti-terror campaign.
A priority is that Egypt has a reputation of a safe country that successfully copes with its own protection and the protection of its holiday resorts, Zaoralek said.
He said Sisi appreciates the fact that the Egyptian-Czech relations have been stable, without any dramatic twists and turns.
“They are aware that even at moments of turbulences, the Czech Republic refrained from comments, took no hurry to assess the events and preferred to wait for the situation to develop somehow,” Zaoralek said.
He said Sisi knows Czech industry very well. During their meeting, he spoke a lot about Czech economy, technologies and particular products that have a good reputation in Egypt.
“As a former soldier, he is also a connoisseur of Czech aircraft and the [miliary materiel] we supplied to Egypt in the past,” Zaoralek said.
Before meeting Sisi, Zaoralek had talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, who, too, thanked him for the Czech Republic’s support for tourist trips to Egypt.
Zaoralek and Shoukry discussed bilateral relations and the situation in the region.
“We also spoke about the terrorist threats Egypt has faced in the past years. I would like to emphasise that the Czech Republic sides with you,” Zaoralek told Egyptians at a press conference.
“Stable Egypt is a guarantee of stability of the whole region,” he added.
Later on Monday, Zaoralek left Egypt for a visit to Oman.
