Premier Giorgia Meloni said Sunday a meeting between EU leaders and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to seal a 7.4 billion deal to boost development in exchange for stemming migrant flows was historic and she was proud of Italy's role in helping set up the agreement.
"President el-Sisi, dear colleagues, this is a historic meeting between Egypt and the European Union: I am proud of the role played by Italy in reaching this objective," she told an EU-Egyptian summit on the new strategic partnership featuring European Commission President Ursual von der Leyen and Belgian, Austrian, Greek and Cypriot leaders.
"The global and strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Union is part of the current context in which we are facing many crises that could destabilize the Mediterranean region in an unimaginable level.
Among the common challenges to be faced together, she said, are "food and water security, energy security, development and migration".
She said "this initiative shows our willingness to strengthen and encourage a new structural method of cooperation between the two sides of the Mediterranean".
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