On Tuesday July 19, 2022, President Abd El- Fattah El-Sisi left the German capital, Berlin, heading to Belgrade.

Upon his arrival in the Serbian capital, the President was received at the airport by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, senior Serbian statesmen and members of the Egyptian Embassy in Belgrade.

President El-Sisi’s visit will witness intensive talks with the Serbian President to explore mechanisms to enhance political and economic relations between the two countries and discuss ways to cooperate and coordinate at the regional and international levels.

President El-Sisi Holds Summit Talks with the President of Serbia in Belgrade

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi held summit talks in Belgrade with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić. At the official reception ceremony for President El-Sisi, the two national anthems were played and the guards of honor were reviewed.

The Spokesman for the Presidency said the President of Serbia commenced the meeting by welcoming President El-Sisi as a dear guest in Serbia for the first time. President Vučić expressed his country's appreciation for Egypt's leadership and people, valuing the bilateral relations between the two countries. He affirmed his country's keenness to continue upgrading relations and strengthening cooperation and coordination between the two friendly countries at all levels, given Egypt’s pivotal role as a pillar of stability, security and peace in the Middle East and Africa.

President El-Sisi expressed his appreciation for President Vučić‘s invitation to visit Serbia and for the warm reception and hospitality. President El-Sisi congratulated President Vučić on his re-election as President of the Republic of Serbia for a second term, which reflects the confidence of Serbian citizens in his leadership at a historical era that is characterized by many political and economic challenges. President El-Sisi valued the strong, extended and outstanding relations between Egypt and Serbia, particularly at the level of the Non-Aligned Movement. The President also expressed Egypt’s mutual interest to further strengthen and upgrade these relations in various fields, as well as to continue coordination and political consultation between the two countries and explore aspects of bilateral cooperation.

The meeting discussed fostering closer relations at various levels. The President of Serbia commended on the remarkable development in Egypt over the past years, stressing his country's aspiration to boost mutual investments in many sectors and increase the volume of trade between the two friendly countries. This shall create a qualitative leap in Egyptian-Serbian economic relations, especially through the participation of Serbian companies in the implementation of mega national projects in Egypt.

President El-Sisi welcomed strengthening cooperation with Serbia in various areas, particularly military, economic, commercial and tourism cooperation, to be commensurate with the alignment of visions between the two countries with regard to regional and international developments, particularly with the state of instability witnessed at the international arena. This requires finding joint action by countries with similar orientations, particularly in the areas of energy, security and regional security.

The talks also discussed various developments in regional and international issues of common interest. The Ukrainian crisis and its repercussions on the global economy were focused on during the meeting, as well as the situations in Yemen, Syria and Libya. The President of Serbia valued Egypt’s positive role in efforts toward reaching political settlements for the ongoing crises in its regional milieu. He also commended promoting dialogue between African, Arab and European countries, as well as efforts to combat extremist ideology and illegal immigration and entrench the principles and values of acceptance of the other, freedom of choice and tolerance.

President El-Sisi lays wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, accompanied by Serbian President

President El-Sisi lays wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Avala Mountain in Serbia, accompanied by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
President El Sisi Receives an Honorary Doctorate

During the President’s visit to the capital Belgrade, he received an honorary doctorate by the University of Belgrade, which is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Serbia. The University awarded the President the honorary doctorate for his development efforts in Egypt, and for spreading the thought and culture of peace, cooperation and construction regionally and internationally.

The Spokesman for the Presidency said the President of the University of Belgrade, the Minister of Education, Science and Technological Developments and members of the University Council expressed pride in President El-Sisi’s visit to the university. They stressed that the decision to grant President El-Sisi an honorary doctorate degree is an appreciation of his role in leading Egypt through a tense period of instability into a new stage of development and construction, by launching radical structural reforms at the national level in the economic and social fields. This is in addition to the mega national projects launched by President El-Sisi in various sectors, and which contributed significantly to improving the services provided to the Egyptian citizens and redrawing the development map of Egypt.

University officials also valued the president’s efforts to improve Egyptian education, particularly by maximizing spending on basic education and raising the level of higher education through a series of fundamental reform projects. Those included the establishment of a number of technological and technical universities and the development of curricula, to keep pace with the latest international standards to respond to the needs of the labor market.

University officials underscored the President’s effective and tangible role in promoting bilateral relations between Egypt and Serbia, particularly at the academic and cultural levels. They noted that this comes as a continuation of the historical relations between the two countries within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement. They also lauded the President’s focus on the economic dimension by encouraging investments and launching the Egyptian-Serbian Business Forum and the Egyptian- Serbian Joint Business Council.

The University valued the President’s active contributions to enhancing peace and cooperation at the regional and international levels, as well as his leading efforts toward combating the phenomena of terrorism and illegal migration. The University also valued the President’s tireless efforts at the level of combating climate change, which were culminated by Egypt’s hosting of the World Summit on Climate in November in Sharm El Sheikh.

President El-Sisi valued this honoring, considering that it is not directed to himself, but to the entire Egyptian people as major partners in the accomplishments achieved recently in Egypt across various levels. The President delivered a speech on this occasion, focusing on the overall relations between the two countries and prospects for boosting them. He also reviewed the determinants of the Egyptian policies with regard to the most important regional and international.