On Tuesday 24 January, the chair of the Egyptian Parliament's foreign affairs committee, Ahmed Said, said he would like the EU and Egypt to cooperate more on terrorism and immigration.
"Egypt and the EU are facing real and growing dangers due to the effects of terrorism, illegal immigration and the refugee situation (...) Egypt is ready to become a pivotal partner for the EU in fighting against the roots of terrorism and against illegal migration. There shouldn't be just one trooper", he told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee. "I see no partnership in the region as strong and solid as that between Egypt and the EU", he added. In Said's view, the fight against terrorism should focus on those who commit terrorism and who "use ignorance and poverty" to sow "hatred and violence". "Terrorism knows no barriers or borders. The fight will never be brought to an end if we limit ourselves to the symptoms and [and don't tackle the causes]", he warned.
Said highlighted the difficult situation in his country and region – a severe economic downturn, a 16% devaluation of the Egyptian pound, acts of terrorism, and a fall in tourism. "The situation is gloomy (...) The situation in the Middle East, in Libya and in Syria cannot be underestimated", he said. In his view, "the disaster of open warfare should not lead us to forget the very longstanding tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict". "Some say that resolving it is less important and less urgent than resolving other conflicts. In my view, this position is very dangerous because this dormant conflict remains the main issue in Arab minds, and this is a risk of young people's radicalisation. Without resolving this conflict, the Middle East will always be on fire", he said.
When asked by several MEPs about the case of Giulio Regeni, the Italian student who was tortured and killed in Egypt (see EUROPE 11485), he said that this story had been a shock for Egyptians and that they were calling for light to be shed on it. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)