President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has highly appreciated Canada's "balanced" stances regarding developments in Egypt over the past years.

Cairo is looking forward to boosting bilateral relations with Ottawa at all levels, Sisi said during a meeting with visiting Canadian Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion on Wednesday.

Sisi also thanked Dion for Canada's contribution to the multinational force deployed in Sinai for three decades now, said presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef.

He also voiced appreciation for development programs designed by Canada for Egypt, Youssef said.

Surely, Canada is contributing to the development process in Egypt, the president said.

Dion was keen on extending condolences to Egypt for the victims of the plane crash in the start of his meeting with Sisi, Youssef said. 

He voiced solidarity with Egypt and families of the plane victims, the spokesman added.

The Canadian top diplomat also hailed as "pivotal" the regional role played by Egypt to support peace and stability and fight terrorism and extremism. 

Canada is concerned with boosting stability in Egypt and supporting the transition to democracy here, Dion told Sisi.

They also discussed regional crises, with Sisi stressing the importance of reaching political solutions that would maintain unity and sovereignty of countries in the region, Youssef said.

The meeting particularly took up international efforts to revive the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

Sisi stressed that comprehensive and just peace should be based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on June 4,1967 borders.

This should create a new fact that would contribute to achieving security and stability in all regional countries, Sisi told Dion.

The Canadian foreign minister said his country seeks to contribute, once again, to efforts to revive the Middle East peace talks with the aim to achieve stability in the region.

Source : MENA