Following the meeting held today between the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, and His Excellency Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates of Egypt, on the margins of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York the following joint readout was issued:
In line with the long-standing and friendly partnership between both Canada and Egypt, built over the course of 70 years of diplomatic relations, both sides reaffirmed the mutual desire to enhance cooperation between our two countries.
Ministers Joly and Abdelatty stressed the need to advance and strengthen bilateral relations, including economic and commercial interactions, as well as to promote tourism and support greater people-to-people interactions. Both ministers agreed there is much that can be achieved between the Governments of Canada and Egypt by collaborating together with a view to continuing to build together a reinvigorated platform of bilateral cooperation in all its dimensions.
To that end, both Ministers discussed the issue of mutual facilitation of travel and tourism between both countries, along with the possibility of waiving the requirement of prior-entry visas for Canadian citizens travelling to Egypt. Minister Abdelatty agreed that Egypt will take this step very soon, and it will be announced in due time. Minister Joly thanked him for this positive signal, in the spirit of Egyptian-Canadian friendship, and as a genuine demonstration of the two countries' partnership, which is being celebrated in 2024 as they mark 70 years of diplomatic relations.
