Serbia, Egypt agree to boost cooperation amid war in Ukraine

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, left, shakes hands with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, July 20, 2022. (AP)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (R) and Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi (L) inspect the guard of honour during the welcoming ceremony in Belgrade, Serbia, 20 July 2022. (EPA)

• Two leaders signed partnership declaration, announced plans for a free trade agreement by the end of year
• A business forum was held as officials signed a series of deals focusing on fields of cooperation

BELGRADE: Egypt and Serbia on Wednesday agreed to boost political, economic and other cooperation as the two countries look for ways to deal with the global impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was in Serbia on a three-day visit this week — the first in more than three decades by an Egyptian president. His host, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, said the visit had a “historic character.”
“It will bring so much in the future,” Vucic said at a joint press conference with El-Sisi. “This is just a beginning.”
The two leaders signed a partnership declaration, Vucic awarded El-Sisi a state decoration and announced plans for a free trade agreement by the end of the year. A business forum was held as officials signed a series of deals focusing on fields of cooperation.
“Both our countries should cooperate for better economies in relation to the global events,” said El-Sisi. “Egypt expects stronger cooperation in all fields.”
Vucic said Serbia will export grain, primarily wheat, to Egypt, which has been hit hard by the price hikes caused by the war in Ukraine. Egypt is among the world’s largest importers of wheat, with much of that from now-blocked Ukrainian ports.
Serbia, a candidate country for European Union membership, has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia and has maintained friendly relations with Moscow despite the war. Both leaders said the war in Ukraine was among the topics discussed at their meeting Wednesday.
“Egypt is a country that wishes to see everything resolved peacefully and through agreements,” said El-Sisi, who met with US President Joe Biden in Saudi Arabia last week.
El-Sisi and Vucic also evoked during their press conference the decades-old ties of Belgrade and Cairo as founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement of nations outside the opposed blocs during the time of Cold War divisions.