Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry

Visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks Monday with his Djiboutian counterpart Mahamoud Ali Youssouf on means of promoting bilateral relations in the different domains.

The talks took up cooperation means to establish a free trade zone and a logistic center in Djibouti to ease the trade movement between the two countries and neighboring countries, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdel Aati said.

The Djiboutian side showed keenness to activate cooperation with Egypt in the trade, education and health fields and promote the presence of Egyptian companies in the country, especially the Arab Contractors Company, which has a good reputation in Africa, the spokesman has said.

The meeting also took up the role of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development, supporting development in Djibouti and the possibility of establishing an Egyptian hospital in the country, Abdel Aati said.

The two top diplomats also discussed the situation in Africa, especially in the Horn of Africa region, and political and security conditions in Somalia, the security in the Red Sea area and Bab el Mandeb Strait, he added.

The Djiboutian ministers of international cooperation, finance, economic, trade, higher education and scientific research attended the meeting.