El-Sisi offered condolences to King Charles and the British government and people over the death of the queen, who gave a lot to her people and country over the decades, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

King Charles thanked El-Sisi for his generous gesture, which highlights the distinguished traditional relations between the two friendly countries.

El-Sisi and King Charles also discussed a number of issues of mutual concern, especially regarding climate change, the statement said.

This comes in light of the several initiatives sponsored by the king in this field and the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) that Egypt is scheduled to host in November in Sharm El-Sheikh city, the statement added.

Over the past few months, Egypt has coordinated with the UK, the host of COP26 last year, and international partners in Glasgow to make COP27 a success by implementing the Paris Agreement and turning climate pledges into actions.

The phone call comes two days before the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96. The funeral is set to be held on Monday with the attendance of hundreds of heads of state and royals from around the world.

President El-Sisi met with then-Prince of Wales Charles in November last year during the latter’s two-day visit to Egypt along with his wife, Camilla Parker, for the first time since 2006.