Aleksic, members of parliamentary friendship group with Egypt meet with Egyptian ambassador

BELGRADE - The head of Serbia's parliamentary friendship group with Egypt Zagorka Aleksic and group members Stasa Stojanovic and Zivota Starcevic met with Egyptian Ambassador to Belgrade Ahmed Salama Soliman on Thursday.

The meeting took place in the National Assembly building.

"Aleksic recounted the rich tradition of good relations between the two states, dating back from 1908, stressing that they are grounded not only in common interest, but also in mutual respect and understanding," an official statement said.

"Aleksic reminded that the recent years saw political visits at the highest level, with a special emphasis on the exchange of visits of the two presidents - Abdel Fattah el Sisi to Serbia in 2022 and Aleksandar Vucic to Egypt in 2024, when a free trade agreement between Serbia and Egypt was signed which launched a positive trend of economic cooperation. There is also potential to intensify relations in the fields of agriculture, industry, energy, culture and tourism, she opined," the statement said.

"Speaking about parliamentary cooperation, Zagorka Aleksic said that a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two parliaments in 2019 and that it is a good platform for maintaining regular communication between parliamentarians. She declared the mutual support of parliamentary delegations in international parliamentary forums and organisations, especially in the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, very successful.

Ambassador Ahmed Salama Soliman agreed that the two countries have a long history of good relations, mutual trust and peaceful intentions, however economic cooperation does not follow the exceptional trend of political cooperation, and there is significant room to intensify contacts in the areas of agriculture, energy and renewable energy sources.

The officials agreed that the introduction of direct flights between the two capitals, Belgrade and Cairo, as well as facilitation of visa issuance for Egyptian citizens to enter Serbia would be of exceptional importance.

They also assessed that the upcoming specialised exhibition EXPO 2027 provides an opportunity for closer connections between Serbia and Egypt and other African countries, and the MPs thanked Ambassador Soliman for confirming Egypt's participation in this event," it also said.