欧美文化:EU provides Egypt with 7.4-bln-euro financial package: president

CAIRO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) agreed on Sunday to provide a financial package of approximately 7.4 billion euros (8.06 billion U.S. dollars) to bolster the Egyptian economy, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said.

Sisi made the remarks during a press conference jointly held with visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior officials from the bloc, during which he announced that Egypt and the EU signed a joint political declaration to "embark on a collaborative path" toward upgrading their bilateral relations to the "strategic and comprehensive partnership level."

The financial package will mainly focus on three aspects of the Egyptian economy, "namely concessional financing, investment guarantees, and technical support for the implementation of bilateral cooperation projects," he was quoted as saying in a Presidency statement.

Egypt and the EU also prepared to convene a joint investment conference in the second half of 2024 to welcome more European companies to engage in the Egyptian market, according to the statement.

"Our discussions placed special emphasis on energy as a key area for cooperation, with a particular focus on natural gas and electricity interconnection," Sisi noted, adding that it has been agreed upon to collaborate on green hydrogen production as a clean energy source.

Earlier in the day, Sisi and von der Leyen held a meeting on boosting Egyptian-European ties, on the sidelines of the Egyptian-European Summit that included leaders of Cyprus, Italy, Greece and Austria.

He also met with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country holds the current EU rotating presidency.