FM: Egypt keen on participating in peacekeeping mission in Somalia

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expats Badr Abdelatty stressed Egypt's eagerness for participating in the peacekeeping mission in Somalia upon the request of the Somali government. The minister made the statement Thursday during a meeting with his Somali counterpart Ahmed Moalem in Cairo as they were discussing joint cooperation programmes, such as the delivery of training to Somali diplomats in Egypt. The two sides also underscored the importance of bolstering trade exchange building upon the launch of direct flights between the two countries. The Somali minister similarly expressed aspiration to reinforcing collaboration in the sector of education and increasing the number of scholarships allocated by Al Azhar to Somali students. Further, he asked to raise the number of flights between the two states. On his side, Minister Abdelatty said he looked forward to holding periodical meetings and intensifying consultations between the two sides. In a related context, he underlined Egypt's stance backing the unity and sovereignty of Somalia, and rejecting interference with its internal affairs. The minister highlighted that the meeting of the Egyptian and Somali presidents on Wednesday came in light of a momentum in bilateral ties as a new headquarters of the Egyptian embassy in Mogadishu had been inaugurated, and a military cooperation protocol had been signed. Source: State Information Service Egypt