Egypt and the Czech Republic on Saturday agreed to boost cooperation and exchange expertise between the two countries’ air forces.
The statement came during the visit of Egyptian Commander of the Air Force Mahmoud Fouad Abdel Gawad to the Czech Republic, where he held meetings with officials of the armed forces to discuss boosting aspects of military cooperation.
“The visit comes within the framework of the keenness of the General Command of the Armed Forces to promote military cooperation fields with sisterly and friendly countries,” according to the Egyptian army spokesperson.
Abdel Gawad met with Commander of Czech Air Force Petr Cepelka and First Deputy of Czech Defense Minister Frantisek Sulc.
The meetings tackled the strength and depth of the Egyptian-Czech relations and the importance of boosting aspects of cooperation and exchanging expertise between the Egyptian and Czech air forces in the coming period, the spokesperson said.
Abdel Gawad also met with Deputy Foreign Minister Jiri Kozak. They agreed on boosting aspects of strategic partnership between their countries’ air forces, in addition to opening new cooperation horizons in the field of aviation industry.
The Egyptian Commander then visited the premises of the Czech aircraft company of Aero Vodochody. He said both sides are sharing viewpoints on a number of issues of mutual interest.
On Tuesday, Egyptian Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Hassan El-Khatib discussed with Czech Ambassador in Cairo Ivan Jukl ways of fostering economic and trade cooperation between Egypt and the Czech Republic.
Khatib highlighted the depth of relations, underlining the importance of increasing joint investments and establishing partnerships between the public and private sectors in both countries.
The Minister said he plans to visit the Czech Republic soon along with an official delegation that comprises representatives of the Egyptian business community, to inform the Czech side about the recent reforms aimed at improving the business climate in Egypt.
For his part, the Czech ambassador expressed his country's willingness to share experience with Egypt in bringing about economic and institutional transformation, reducing unemployment rates and supporting innovation and technology.
“Egypt enjoys competitive advantages, citing the tax policy that helps the country to be an attractive destination for non-labor-intensive investments, noting Czech companies seek to expand their presence in promising markets, such as Egypt,” Jukl said.
The two sides then agreed on activating the joint business council and holding a forum bringing together business representatives from the public and private sectors in both countries to strengthen investment partnerships and expand bilateral cooperation.
