WATANI International
31 May 2009
On 10 May the head of the delegation of the European Commission in Egypt, Dr Klaus Ebermann, held a reception at his residence to celebrate Europe Day.
The event was attended by key Egyptian and Non-Egyptian personalities including ministers, ambassadors and key officials.
In his speech, Dr Ebermann said the European-Egyptian relations were on the right track towards achieving more progress, stressing that Egypt has become a major attraction for European investments. He praised the role that Egypt is playing in the peace process despite the complicated situation in the region and stressed the importance of co-operation between the Delegation of the European Commission in Egypt and the Arab League.
Dr Ebermann said that Egypt’s demand to be accorded favoured treatment with the EU was being studied by Brussels. He applauded the EU Egyptian cooperation on the social and economic levels, noting that Egypt has exerted commendable efforts on such issues as woman and child rights, female circumcision, street children, handicapped persons, and NGOs.
The Egyptian/EU policy throughout the last two years is providing strong foundation for cooperation in the environment, energy, trade, science and immigration domains, Dr Ebermann said. He noted that the central banks of Egypt and the EU have been working closely during the current financial crisis.
Future cooperation, Dr Ebermann foresees, will focus on managing water resources, the environment, and wind energy which, he believes, will be quite significant in the coming years.
Several Egyptian ministers were present including Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Moseilhy, Minister of State for Family and Population Affairs Moushira Khattab, Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged George, Minster of Housing Ahmed Al Maghraby and Minister of Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid who praised the level of co-operation between Egypt and the European Union, especially the economic and trade fields.