Friday, 12 October 2007
RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan received newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Egypt to Armenia Vahid Al-din Ismail Galal.
Congratulating the Ambassador on the start-up of his diplomatic mission in our country, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that Vahid Al-din Ismail Galal would build on the efforts for the maintenance of the recently actively developing dialogue towards the strengthening of the Armenian-Egyptian relationship. In noting that the current level of relationship between the two countries was sufficiently high, Serzh Sargsyan stressed that this urged the two sides to make more active efforts for the furtherance of bilateral ties, especially, in trade and the economic sector.
Emphasizing that the Armenian-Egyptian friendship went far back into the centuries, Ambassador Vahid Galal indicated the important role attributed to the Armenian community of Egypt in respect of developing the dialogue between the two countries and peoples, especially as numerous representatives of this community participated actively in the political, economic and cultural life of his country. The Ambassador said to be highly appreciative of the Armenian-Egyptian cooperation in the framework of international organizations and thanked the Prime Minister for the support provided by the Armenian side in the deliberations of important to Egypt questions. The RA Prime Minister, in turn, mentioned the balanced stance of Egypt as to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.
With reference to bilateral trade and economic exchanges, the parties have agreed in that they still fell short of the political cooperation of the two countries and went on to emphasize that the there were vast opportunities available for activating the interaction in this important field. Here, they emphasized the role of the Armenian-Egyptian intergovernmental commission, the next session of which is scheduled for this December. Concerning the development of trade and economic cooperation between Armenia and Egypt, the interlocutors emphasized the implementation of joint programs in the agricultural, pharmaceutical and other sectors, as well as the necessity of establishing direct air flights, augmenting investments and so on. Ambassador Vahid Galal conveyed to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia the proposal of the Egyptian side regarding the founding of an Egyptian trading center in Armenia. The need of expanding the informational framework between the two countries was stressed on either side so as Armenia and Egypt might have better knowledge of each other in future.
In conclusion, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan wished every success to the Ambassador and assured that the Government of Armenia was open to discuss any suggestion on the part Egypt relating to the development of bilateral cooperation and render all possible support for their realization.
