A Delegation of the European Parliament (EP) undertook a mission to Cairo, Egypt, on 30 – 31 October 2018 on the occasion of the 12th inter-parliamentary meeting between the EP and the Egyptian Parliament.

The Delegation met with Mr. Kareem Darwish, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and other Egyptian Parliamentarians. It also met with Assistant Foreign Minister Ahmad Gamal Al Din, with the President of the National Council of Human Rights, Mr. Mohammed Fayek, with the President of the National Council of Women, Dr. Maya Morsy, and with representatives from civil society organisations. The Grand Iman of Al Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al Tayeb, and Tawadros II, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, also received the EP Delegation.

With all its interlocutors, the EP Delegation expressed the need for to the Egyptian authorities to deepen the implementation of the courageous social and economic reforms within a democratic framework. It also called for an enhancement of the partnership between the EU and Egypt, that should help overcome common challenges and build a better future for our citizens, whose immense majority aspire to live in a free, safe, tolerant and pluralistic society. Such a partnership should also foster a political dialogue based on shared values, respect of the rule of law and international agreements.

In this spirit, the EP Delegation raised several individual cases of citizens whose rights are infringed and recalled that, both in the EU and in Egypt, sustainable development and security can only be achieved when human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and the right to peaceful dissent, are fully respected.