During a meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly at the Cabinet headquarters in Cairo, the Croatian leader also hailed the outcome of his talks with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi a day earlier.

The Croatian president called for taking advantage of opportunities for investment and trade between the two countries amid distinguished relations in various domains.

Trade between Egypt and Croatia increased to $203.9 million in the first 10 months of 2022, up from $106.8 million during the same period in 2021, Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported on Monday.

Croatian investments in Egypt rose to $2.9 million in the fiscal year 2020/2021, up by 26.1 percent from the previous fiscal year, according to CAPMAS.

For his part, Madbouly hailed the historic relations with Croatia, expresing hope for developing economic and investment ties between the two countries.

The Egyptian premier also congratulated Milanovic on Croatia's recent accession to the Schengen and Euro zones, praising Zaghreb's successes in integration within European Union institutions.

On 1 January, Croatia became the 27th country to join Europe’s passport-free Schengen zone which abolishing border checks at the dozens of border crossings in Europe.

During a joint presser on Monday with Milanovic, El-Sisi stressed that the fact that Croatia can contribute to boosting trade and enhancing energy security in central and southern Europe as one of the EU’s southern gates.

El-Sisi and Milanovic discussed prospects for Croatian companies to invest in the field of energy in Egypt.

The Egyptian president also reviewed Egypt's progress in energy production, including new gas discoveries in the East Mediterranean zone as well as the establishment of the Cairo-based East Mediterranean Gas Forum.

Furthermore, El-Sisi expressed appreciation for Croatia’s supportive stance for Egypt in a number of pivotal issues, at the top of which is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam issue.

Boosting parliamentary relations

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Parliament Speaker Hanafy El-Gebaly stressed in a meeting with Milanovic in Cairo on Tuesday on the depth of the historical ties between Egypt and Croatia and the positive progress in bilateral ties on all levels.

He lauded the Croatian stances in supporting Egyptian issues at international events, asserting the importance of boosting parliamentary ties between Egypt and Croatia via activating the Egyptian-Croatian parliamentary friendship association.

For his part, Milanovic affirmed the need to promote deep relations  between the two countries.