Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal met on Sunday with a delegation of the European Parliament (EP) in the presence of chairmen of the committees of the foreign relations and defense and national security. 

Egypt is keen on fostering bilateral ties with the European Union, Abdel Aal said, asserting that the first legislative term has witnessed several meetings with delegations of the EP. 

The issues of combating terrorism and the illegal immigration were on the top of those meetings’ agenda, according to Abdel Aal. 

As for the first issue, the Parliament speaker said that Egypt is waging a fierce war against terrorism and its armed forces play a significant role in preventing several extremists from arriving in Europe through monitoring borders around the clock. 

On the second issue, Abdel Aal added that the illegal immigration drew much attention over the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen, citing that Egypt hosts some five million refuges despite harsh economic conditions. 

In a related context, Abdel Aal briefed the EP delegation on the recent law ratified by the Parliament to combat the illegal immigration. 

With regard to the domestic situation, Abdel Aal underlined that Egypt has made a great stride in the field of internal reform, as evidenced by the new church construction law approved by the Parliament.

As for the economic sphere, Abdel Aal said that Parliament is about to debate a new law that could provide incentives and guarantees for foreign investors. 

For its part, the EP delegation agreed with Abdel Aal on his views about combating terrorism and the illegal immigration.

Also, the delegation members asserted their full support for Egypt at the EP, expressing their readiness to stand by Egypt in the domain of economic reform through calling for pumping more European investments in Egypt.

Source: MENA