El-Sisi told Johnson that Egypt will adopt a comprehensive and impartial approach during its presidency of the 2022 United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change Conference (COP27), which is scheduled to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh this November, to build on the success achieved by the COP26 that was held in Glasgow last year and ensure that the conference achieves positive results that support international climate action.

Meanwhile, Johnson hailed the role played by Egypt within the framework of international efforts to face climate action, affirming the UK’s keenness to continue cooperation with Egypt in this regard, Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady said in a statement.

The two sides also hailed the recent progress in bilateral relations between the two countries, with PM Johnson praising the strength of economic and commercial relations with Egypt, noting that the country is one of Britain’s most important partners in the Middle East and Africa, especially in terms of consolidating security and stability.

Furthermore, the British PM stressed the UK’s keenness to continue Egypt’s ambitious measures and pioneering experiment to advance its economy and achieve sustainable development, especially by boosting investments, transferring expertise and technology, and localising industry.

For his part, El-Sisi affirmed that Egypt looks forward to furthering the UK’s involvement in Egypt’s priority development plans in various fields through the mechanisms of various British development institutions.

He also called for boosting British investments in Egypt and strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries, especially in light of the improvement of the investment and business climate and the promising opportunities related to Egyptian mega national projects.

British investments in Egypt have reached around £50 billion through about 2,000 companies investing in the Egyptian market, the UK’s Ambassador in Cairo Gareth Bayley said in remarks to media in November.

Furthermore, President El-Sisi voiced Egypt’s aspiration to maximise its fruitful cooperation with the UK during the coming period and enhance political coordination as well as the exchange of views on common challenges that the two countries face on the international and regional levels.

The two leaders agreed in a meeting in November on the side-lines of the COP26 on strengthening cooperation in various fields, especially investments, security, intelligence, military, education, tourism, and health.

In October, the duo discussed recent developments in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, as well as the situation in Libya, and means to boost British tourism to Egypt.

British tourists make one of the largest groups that visit Egypt, as more than 400,00 Britons vaccationed in the country in 2019 before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.