The get-together was expected to discuss migration, ways of combating terrorism and relations between the European Union and Egypt, including the bloc’s support for the Middle Eastern country’s economic development, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
“When it comes to possibilities for closer cooperation, of key importance will be issues to do with the tourism sector, as well as possible joint action in Africa, to step up coronavirus vaccinations," Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said ahead of the meeting.
Müller added that Egypt also had an important role to play in containing illegal migration.
“The EU is seeking—mainly thanks to the determination of the Visegrad Group (V4) in recent years—to stop migration flows, if possible, already in places beset by the underlying causes of these flows," Müller told reporters.
Tuesday's summit was set to consist of a meeting between the V4 PMs, a plenary session featuring the delegations from the V4 countries and Egypt, a leaders’ working lunch, and statements for the media.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš was unlikely to take part, officials in Prague said, after his grouping lost last weekend’s general election and could lose its grip on power in the country.
On Monday, the V4 and Egypt met at a ministerial level, with the Polish delegation led by Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, who thanked fellow V4 countries for help provided to Poland and the Baltic states amid a migrant crisis on the Belarus border, the IAR news agency reported.
Błaszczak also met with Egypt’s top diplomat Sameh Shoukry, whom he thanked for Cairo’s efforts to restrict illegal migration, according to IAR.
The previous V4-Egypt summit also featured President Al-Sisi and took place in Budapest in July 2017.
The V4 comprises Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with Hungary currently holding the 12-month presidency of the group.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR