Italy, Egypt presidents agree to continue cooperation against terrorism

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi agreed to continue their cooperation in efforts to combat terrorism, presidency spokesman said in a statement Friday.

In a telephone conversation, al-Sisi and Renzi also agreed to continue joint efforts to find solutions for conflicts in several Middle Eastern countries, especially Libya, which has been ravaged by over four years of civil war.

Italy, whose southern islands are only around 300 kilometers from the Libyan coast and has been dealing with an influx of thousands migrants who cross the Mediterranean to its shores, has been alarmed as Libya has fallen into deep turmoil since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Italy has called on Egypt to aid in the efforts to combat “illegal migration.”

Al-Sisi also praised Rome’s efforts to promote investments by Italian companies in Egypt.

In August, the Italian gas company ENI made a natural gas discovery off the coast of Egypt on the Meditteranean which promises to be one of the world’s largest natgas findings.

Source : Ahram online