The Egyptian president made his remarks while addressing a joint press conference with Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, a day after arriving in Yerevan on Saturday.

El-Sisi voiced happiness for being the first Egyptian president to visit the city since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries about 30 years ago.

Khachaturyan hailed El-Sisi's historic visit to his country, saying friendship between the two countries is deeply-rooted.

He also referred to the role of the Armenian-Egyptian community in boosting relations between the two countries, expressing gratitude for the special care given to Armenian nationals in Egypt, saying his people would never forget the welcome they received after surviving genocide back home.

Thanks to the strong friendship binding the two countries, Armenia will be able to overcome the current stage which is marred by many challenges and flourish in the future, he said.

El-Sisi thanked the Armenian president for his hospitality, adding that the visit reflects Egypt's deep interest in developing ties with Armenia in various domains.

The press conference came after an expanded session of talks with his Armenian counterpart in the presence of delegations of the two countries at the presidential palace earlier in the day, where an official reception was held and the national anthem was played.

Enhancing bilateral ties

During the joint press conference, El-Sisi voiced confidence that his current visit to Armenia would be a starting point for enhancing political cooperation, especially at the economic and investment levels.

He highlighted Egypt's expertise in several industrial sectors that are a top priority for the Armenian market.

El-Sisi revealed that the talks focused on energy production and Egypt’s strategy for green hydrogen production, making it a promising investment destination in light of securing needed energy for industry.

The Egyptian president also underlined the importance of joint work to boost trade exchange and political ties between Egypt and Armenia.

He said this will require activating current economic cooperation mechanisms, chief among which are the joint committee for economic, scientific and technical cooperation as well as the business forum.

El-Sisi said he reviewed during the talks the efforts exerted by Egypt to remove obstacles facing foreign investors and the national projects being carried out in Egypt, especially in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

He referred to the issuance of the golden investment license, which was launched in October to facilitate investment in priority projects for the state, underlining the leap witnessed by Egypt in the field of infrastructure and transportation.

The Armenian president said Egypt and Armenia are closely cooperating in the political, economic, cultural, scientific and tourist domains but unfortunately the volume of trade between the two countries is still not satisfactory.

Thanks to the expanded political agenda of the two countries, more efforts will be exerted by the two governments to promote cooperation in the near future and increase trade exchange, Khachaturyan said.

Big progress in cooperation between the two countries has already been realised, he said, citing the signing of more than 50 documents for cooperation.

He said the number of Armenian tourists travelling to Egypt is on the rise as it is a favorite tourist destination.

The Armenian president also expected more Egyptian tourism to Armenia after facilitating entry visa procedures.

El-Sisi and Khachaturyan witnessed on Sunday the inking of a number of cooperation agreements between the two countries at the presidential palace in Yerevan.

Both countries signed a cooperation memo in the fields of culture and youth. The memo was inked by Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry.

Also, the Enterprise Armenia (Investment Support Center) signed a memo with the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI). Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed signed the deal for Egypt.

Importance of dialogue to realise peace

President El-Sisi said the talks with the Armenian president tackled a host of regional and international issues of mutual concern in the Middle East and South Caucasus.

He stressed the importance of dialogue, negotiations and exerting efforts to realise peace and a decent life for all people, especially at the present, in which people are suffering double at the economic level in light of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

From his side, Khachaturyan said he personally needs the advice of El-Sisi who has faced big challenges and was able to turn Egypt a stable country.

Khachaturyan said he exchanged with El-Sisi the viewpoints of the two countries on regional issues, pointing out that Egypt is a major power in the region with well-known expertise in the field of mediation tasks.

He said that Egypt promotes the agenda of peace and like Armenia, believes in peaceful co-existence with neighbors.

The Armenian president added that his country needs Egypt's expertise in achieving peace and stability in the region.