On 15 January 2024, in Cairo, the State Secretary of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Andžejs Viļumsons, took part in political consultations between Latvia and Egypt, chaired by the Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs of Egypt, Wael Hamed.
The officials noted the positive dynamics of current bilateral relations and agreed to strengthen economic cooperation, especially in the fields of information and communication technologies, education, as well as transport and logistics, including air freight transportation. The diplomats agreed on concrete steps to deepen bilateral relations.
In the context of regional security issues, views were exchanged on current developments in Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, Libya, the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. Particular attention was paid to the EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership agreed in March 2024. The participants also agreed to strengthen cooperation in international organisations.
During the consultations between Latvia and Egypt, State Secretary Andžejs Viļumsons met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Dr Badr Abdelatty, for a discussion on a broad range of topics. The State Secretary discussed Latvia’s success in digitalisation with the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr Amr Talaat.
Background information
These were the third political consultations with Egypt since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a mechanism for bilateral consultations between the Foreign Ministries of Latvia and Egypt on 22 November 2018. The previous session of consultations was held in Riga on 16 September 2022.
In March 2024, the EU and Egypt agreed on a strategic and comprehensive partnership with the aim of developing the potential for cooperation, in view of the priorities of the EU-Egypt Partnership for 2021–2027.
Bilateral relations between the Republic of Latvia and the Arab Republic of Egypt (in Latvian)
