The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) received His Excellency Ambassador Giampaolo Cantini, the Italian Ambassador to Egypt, on Tuesday, 23 rd. of April 2019 during which he spoke about the Egyptian-Italian bilateral relations, and means of promoting them. The meeting was attended by Ambassador/ Dr. Mounir Zahran, Chairman of the Council; and Ambassador/ Dr. Ezzat Saad, Director of the Council; as well as the Council’s members Ambassadors/ Youssef Al-Sharqawy, Farouq Mabrouk, Dr. Hazem Atteyatallah, Dr.Kamal Abu Oqail, and Dr. Ahmad Mahdy.

 The meeting was opened by Ambassador Dr. Mounir Zahran, Chairman of the Council, who then presented a brief profile of the Italian ambassador.

The Italian ambassador began his speech by thanking the council for its hospitality, and he then reviewed the Egyptian-Italian bilateral relations with their various areas, indicating that they are characterized by very strong historical roots. His Excellency affirmed that the investment climate in Egypt at present is an attractive climate and that Egypt is one of the promising and attractive markets worldwide for global companies to attract and increase investments in the country, pointing out that Egypt’s presidency of the African Union (AU) this year, happens to be the most important political event in 2019, indicating that this represents an extremely significant step that makes Egypt a Centre for stepping to Africa, and for the resolution of conflicts in the various regions of the continent. And that Egypt will be the main and important gate for the Italian companies to increase investments in African states, which is a matter that demands exertion of joint efforts for the benefit of bilateral relations. He affirmed the existence of outstanding Italian companies having advanced technological expertise in various fields. The ambassador also pointed out to Italy’s strong support to Egypt in its war against terrorism, as well as Italy’s support to Egypt in its march towards development and path of democracy.