Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed at a summit with the leaders of Iraq and Jordan the need of maintaining coordination and consultation to address perils that pose threat to the region, particularly amid regional interferences that target the Arab national security.

"The talks are a good opportunity to continue consultation and coordination on the region's main issues amid the consecutive regional and global developments," El-Sisi told the summit, which is attended by Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

The perils of terrorism and radical ideologies are still present, a matter that necessitate exerting joint efforts to defeat them, he said, praising Iraq’s victories against terrorism.

The Egyptian leader called for embarking on carrying out a package of ventures agreed upon between the three nations in embodiment of current cooperation ties between them.

"My presence here today embodies the strong relations between our countries and peoples, and our keenness to support and develop these relations towards broader prospects that ensure the unity of objective and destiny as well as fulfill our joint interests," he noted.

He expressed his hope that the summit will build on what was achieved during the previous summits to establish a new era of strategic partnership and close cooperation to achieve sustainable development and contribute to supporting the Arab national security.

El-Sisi said Cairo will put its capabilities to support both Asian countries in confronting the coronavirus pandemic.

El-Sisi arrived in the Iraqi capital earlier on Sunday on the first visit by an Egyptian leader to the conflict-torn country in nearly three decades.

Sunday's trilateral summit is the fourth round of talks between the three countries as the trilogy aims to promote cooperation mechanisms and reinforce political consultation on regional issues,

The first trilateral summit was held in Cairo in March 2019, with the second summit held in New York in September of the same year. The third was held in Amman in August 2020.

The past summits saw an exchange of views between the leaders of the three countries on crucial regional issues and common security challenges, as well as means to restore stability in the region.

Arab water rights

El-Sisi voiced his appreciation to both countries' "supportive" stances on Egypt's water rights, in reference to the dispute caused by the controversial dam Addis Ababa is building on a main tributary of the Nile River.

El-Sisi said Egypt's water rights are "closely" connected to Arab national security and form part of Arab water rights in general, voicing Egypt's support to the water rights of Iraq and Jordan as well.

"Egypt supports the water rights of Iraq and Jordan in the face of challenges both are confronting and deem Arab water a fundamental component of Arab national security, a matter that requires coordination and cooperation between us to preserve them," he stressed.

Libya's stability vs foreign forces

As for Libya, El-Sisi said Egypt is seeking to secure a political settlement based on the outcomes of the Berlin Summit, the Cairo Declaration and international resolutions .

"We, however, assert the difficulty of achieving the desired stability without ending all foreign interference in Libya, and pulling out foreign forces and mercenaries, with the need to continue to respect the ceasefire, leading to the Libyan elections next December."

Egypt has been pushing for a political settlement in Libya for years, calling for a ceasefire, a complete disarming of militias, an end to foreign intervention in the country, as well as a fair distribution of wealth between various regions in the country.

A new Libyan unified interim executive authority was selected in February with the assistance of a United Nations-mediated process that brought together various delegates from Libya's warring factions.

It comprises four leaders to guide the oil-rich country through to national elections in December, with Mohamed Menfi chosen to head a three-man Presidency Council and Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah as interim prime minister.

Libya's parliament voted in March to back the unity government, proposed by Dbeibah, in an attempt to end the chaos that beset the North African country after the NATO-backed uprising that ousted long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

On Syria, he reaffirmed the necessity of reaching a political solution for the Syrian in which the military operations and foreign interventions come to end and the aspirations of Syrian people are achieved.

"I reaffirm our stance that the Syrian issue cannot be settled militarily," he assured.

Egypt supports settlement efforts within the framework of Geneva process and under Security Council Resolution 2254 and the efforts of the UN envoy, he noted.

Arab's central cause

Regarding the Palestinian cause, El-Sisi said Egypt is supporting the "Arab's "central cause" by firming up the Egypt-sponsored ceasefire with Israel and reviving peace efforts anew.

In May, Egypt mediated a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian factions to end an 11-day military operation in the Gaza Strip, which claimed tens of Palestinian lives and injured hundreds.

The Egyptian president said the previous months witnessed momentum related to the Palestinian issues, which included Egyptian efforts to mediate talks between Palestinian factions to bring about reconciliation.

Egypt has been in talks with regional and international sides to revive the long-frozen talks between the Palestinian and Israeli sides based on the international resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the two-state solution with the aim of establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 border, with East Jerusalem as its capital.