CAIRO, May 14 (MENA) - Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs Ambassador Wael Hamed and Permanent Secretary of State of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara co-chaired the first round of political consultations between both countries since 2019 on Wednesday.

During this round of talks, the Egyptian diplomat reviewed the progress of economic and investment cooperation, noting that volume of trade and investment exchange between Egypt and Finland does not live up to the expectations of both countries in view of their great potentials.

He also highlighted the developments in Egypt's infrastructure sector, which plays a key role in luring foreign investments.

The talks also covered EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership, and Egypt's aspiration for Finland's continued support to serve Egyptian interests within the European Union, including the disbursement of a €4 billion second tranche of a larger €7.4 billion macro-financial assistance (MFA) package.

Meanwhile, the Finnish side expressed an interest in boosting the volume of economic and investment cooperation between both countries, asserting Finland's commitment to explore joint cooperation opportunities with Egypt, which offers an investment-friendly environment.

They also highlighted the success of Finnish companies and their positive outlook for the Egyptian business sector, given the state's remarkable efforts to empower the private sector, as well as the benefits available to small businesses and startups. Finland is one of the hottest startup hubs in Europe.

The two sides also shed light on a number of sectors of common interest that will be focused on during the coming period to advance joint cooperation, such as the ICT, energy, higher education and vocational training, air and maritime transportation sectors.

They also affirmed the two countries' keenness on intensifying cooperation between the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding and the Center for Peace Mediation in Finland.

During the talks, the two sides shared their views on a wide range of regional and international issues of mutual concern, including ongoing developments in the Middle East, especially in Gaza, as well as the situation in Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, and the Horn of Africa.

They also discussed the situation in the Red Sea, the latest developments of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and a raft of multilateral issues, such as the role of international organizations and groupings in addressing global issues.

The two sides concluded their talks by agreeing to work on finalizing some memorandums of understanding (MoUs) that are still pending, and study the formation of a joint business council led by a group of businessmen from both countries, as part of mutual efforts for strengthening Egyptian relations with European countries, especially in the Nordic region.

The Finnish president is expected to visit Egypt soon. (MENA)

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