In affirming Egypt's steadfast position towards the situation in Lebanon, as expressed by president Abdel Fatah El-Sisi in several occasions, Shoukry's meeting with Lebanese parties focused on ending the presidential vaccum. Minister Shoukry underscored Egypt's keen interest in electing a new president to the Republic of Lebanon, to be agreed upon by the Lebanese people, so as to put the state's institutions into effect, and avert Lebanon the dangers of conflict and regional tensions, in order to secure its stability and preserve the interest of its people.

Minister Shoukry commended the ongoing dialogue between Lebanese political forces, stressing the need to pursue it, and expressing Egypt's readiness to provide all kind of support to ensure its success and achieving its aspired objectives. The Minister added that Egypt would continue its consultations on ways to support Lebanon, expressing his content over the positive atmosphere that prevailed the Egyptian-Lebanese dialogue, and that he looked forward to putting an end to the presidential vaccum in the near future. Minister Shokry also stressed that Egypt will spare no effort to see a prosperous Lebanese State.

The meeting comes within the framework of the close relations that have always bound Egypt and Lebanon, at the official and popular levels, and to affirm Egypt's keeness to reach out to and consult with all Lebanese factions, with each Egypt shares historic relations that are a source of pride and rapprochement between the two sides.

The Ministry warned, in its statement, of the dangers of maintaining the policy of violating religious sites, as this inflame feelings of anger and religious fervor, and undermine efforts to resume the peace process and negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

The statement also expressed deep concern toward the Israeli Planning and Construction Committee's approval of a plan to construct 4200 housing units in the settlement of Modi’in, west of Ramallah in the West Bank. It also stressed that the continuation of Israeli settlement activities and their acceleration in a systemic manner undermines the chances of success of a two-state solution, and establishes illegal conditions on the ground.

Egypt demanded that Israel stop taking any unilateral steps that would undermine efforts for a peaceful settlement.

The spokesperson added that Egypt 's growing contribution to UN peacekeeping operations emanates from its keenness to enhance international peace and security, especially in African countries, and from its effective role in settling disputes and conflicts in the continent.

The spokesperson noted that Egypt has always been at the forefront of countries that contribute to peacekeeping operations since their inception, and has made its first contribution to the peacekeeping mission in Congo in 1960. Since then, Egypt has increased its contributions to become one of the largest contributing nations. Such increase stems from its strong belief in upholding its responsibilities towards international peace and security issues, and in light of the professionalism, efficiency and strong capabilities that the Egyptian troops have shown, in addition to their commitment to the highest standards of conduct and discipline.

For his part, the Egyptian Ambassador expressed during his visit to the displaced persons camps his happiness for the good security situation in the two states, pointing out that traveling between Maiduguri the capital of Borno State and Damaturu the capital of Yobe State took for an hour which was impossible in the recent past due to the presence of Boko Haram group, and praised the efforts of the administration of Nigerian President Mohammed Buhari in the fight against terrorism, the reconstruction of the two states and housing the displaced people. The Egyptian Ambassador also stressed that what is provided by Al-Azhar and the Egyptian government to camps of displaced people due to Boko Haram attacks in the states of Borno, Yobe is not an aid from Egypt to Nigeria, but is a gift as Egypt and Nigeria are two sisterly countries that have a deep fraternal relations.

The visit of Egypt's ambassador to the states of Borno and Yobe was widely covered, as it is the first visit by the head of an accredited diplomatic mission in Nigeria by land between the two states, in addition to the Nigerian side keenness to arrange the visit in a way that shows the stability that has been witnessed by the two states, as well as paying an attention to the positive role played by Al-Azhar as an institution seeks to contain and counter extremist ideas, and present a balanced speech calls for renouncing violence and achieving peaceful coexistence.

Regarding the amendment proposed by Egypt, the diplomatic source explained that the draft press statement contains three main elements; The first being expression of deep concern regarding developments in Turkey, the second being condemnation of violence and instability in Turkey and stressing the need to end the crisis, and the third being to call on all parties to respect the democratically elected government in Turkey, exercise self-restraint, and refrain from violence.
The diplomatic source clarified that Egypt proposed an amendment replacing the wording "respect the democratically elected government in Turkey" to be replaced by "call on all parties to respect the diplomatic and constitutional principles and the rule of law, etc."

The source concluded his remarks by stating that it is very surprising to see attempts to accuse Egypt of blocking a statement containing all of these elements and meanings, when Egypt only proposed a simple amendment that does not affect the essence of the statement.

The Foreign Ministry further stressed in its statement that such cowardly terrorist acts, which target people of all religions and nationalities and only aim to cause destruction, terror, and animosity against all of humanity, will only strengthen the international community's resolve and determination to combat the odious scourge of terrorism, tear it from its roots, and eliminate its sources of support and funding.

The Foreign Ministry's statement added that Egypt stands alongside France in these difficult times, and affirms its readiness to cooperate with France and with all peace-loving countries, to establish a comprehensive, all-encompassing strategy to eliminate terrorism in all of its forms.

The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson added that the Eritrean Foreign Minister stressed for his part his delight to accomplish this visit, and his eagerness to pursue consultations with Egyptian officials on the different questions associated with the African continent and the Horn of Africa in particular, indicating that the history of the Egyptian-Eritrean relations urges both countries to strengthen their cooperation relations.

Abu Zeid concluded his remarks by noting that the two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue coordination in regional and international forums, and pursuing consultation in the next phase in order to determine agreed frameworks to face the different challenges.

In a statement, Counselor Ahmed Abu Zeid , the Official Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, mentioned that the Foreign Minister will be conducting meetings with the Foreign Minister Ibrahim El Gaafary, the Prime Minister Haider El Abbady, the Head of Parliament and the head of the High Islamic Council, and the parliamentary bloc the Citizen Coalition “Ammar Al-Hakim”

The spokesperson, highlighted that the visit to Baghdad by Shoukry aims to support Iraq at this very crucial time in its confrontation with terrorism. The visit also aims to reinforce bilateral relations in all aspects of common interest of both states, and reinforce the role of Iraq in the Arabian sphere, specifically with regards to important regional causes that require a united Arab front in the face of the various challenges in the region.

Third: European countries and the United States of America:

Egypt's relations with European countries and the United States have witnessed a leap forward, over the last three years as follows:

· Trade exchange between Egypt and Germany amounted to about 4.4 billion Euros in 2015. In addition to that, there are 935 German or German joint ventures operating in Egypt, where total German investments have reached two billion and 430 million Euros by the end of 2014.

· French President / Francois Hollande visited Cairo on April 17, 2016, a visit that reflected the great development of bilateral relations between the two countries, where they discussed the latest developments of the situation in the Middle East, and ways of boosting bilateral cooperation between Egypt and France. The visit also witnessed the signing of several agreements including funding and grants for development projects in the fields of energy, infrastructure, tourism, antiquities and cultural exchange, as well as military cooperation.

· One of the main results of the economic conference in Sharm el-Sheikh held in March 2015 was the discovery of the natural gas field ‘Zohr’, by the Italian company Eni, which is one of the most important areas of cooperation between Egypt and Italy.

· The mechanism of tripartite consultations between Egypt and Cyprus, and Greece is a major framework for enhancing cooperation and coordination of positions on issues of common interest for the three countries. The Greek Egyptian Cypriot tripartite summit was held in Nicosia in April 2015, which was the second in six months, culminating the movements of the three countries at the political and economic levels, a movement that started from Egypt in November 2014 with the first tripartite summit, which issued the Cairo declaration that laid out the determinants of regional cooperation among the three countries.

· With regard to relations with the United States, military assistance to Egypt was resumed in December 2014. The economic conference which was held in March 2015 in Sharm el-Sheikh was a turning point in both countries’ relations, due to the presence of the US Secretary of State John Kerry and dozens of US investors. In late July 2015, Cairo received eight F-16 aircraft, right before the resumption of the strategic dialogue between the two countries at the ministerial level.

Second: "Russia and Egypt: A Rich History and a Promising Future":

· Egyptian-Russian relations have always been characterized by their depth and durability and the variety of areas of cooperation.

· Egyptian-Russian relations have witnessed steady growth over the past two years in the wake of Russia's positions in support of the choice of the Egyptian people, as well as in accordance with the orientation of Egyptian foreign policy towards diversity and balance in Egypt's foreign relations.

· The volume of trade between the two countries has been increasing and practical steps have been taken to establish a Russian industrial zone at the center of the Suez Canal area. Steps have also been taken to start negotiations on the establishment of a free trade zone with the Eurasian Union as well as removing obstacles facing the entry of Egyptian products into the Russian market. Moreover, the energy field has witnessed intense cooperation with the recently signed agreement for establishing a nuclear power plant at Dabaa to generate electricity, in addition to the achievement of a tangible boost in military cooperation between the two countries.

First: Egypt’s Partners in Asia:

China and Egypt: "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership":

· Relations between the two countries rose to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2014 during President Sisi's visit to China, the highest level of relations linking China with any other nation.

· The trade volume between the two countries has reached around USD12 billion by the end of 2014, making China Egypt’s top trade partner.

Japan: "A New Shift in Bilateral Relations":

· President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made an official visit to Japan during the period from February 28 to March 2, 2016. The visit was filled with meetings with prominent Japanese officials, topped by the Emperor of Japan, the Prime Minister, the chairman of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, (JICA), and the speakers of the two chambers of the Japanese parliament.

· During the visit, President Sisi gave a speech to the Japanese parliament, whereby he was the first Arab leader and one of the few world leaders to speak in front of the Japanese parliament.

“Strengthening Ties between Egypt and Other Asian Countries”:

· Egypt and South Kore celebrated the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2015.

· The former Korean Prime Minister visited Egypt in November 2014, where he met with the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister. This visit expressed the Korean side’s support to Egypt and its wish to strengthen relations, as it was the highest-level visit from the Korean side since 2007.

· President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited South Korea, during the period from March 2 to March 4, 2016, which was the first visit for an Egyptian President since 1999.

· Korean investments in Egypt have increased since 2013, by 64% in 2015, and are based mostly in the fields of electronic industries, textiles, and petrochemical industries.

· In addition to the above, President Sisi made important state visits to Indonesia, Singapore, and Kazakhstan, reflecting the great Egyptian interest in deepening relations with Egypt's partners in the Asian continent.

· Following the revolution of June30 and the removal of a terrorist group that has taken the Egyptian people as its enemy, Egypt witnessed a campaign of retribution by terrorists and extremists belonging to the Brotherhood and other terrorist groups.

· This caused counterterrorism to become among the top priorities of Egyptian national security, and prompted Egypt to intensify domestic, regional, and international efforts to combat the rising global threat of terrorism.

· Today Egypt stands at the frontline of the regional and international fight against terrorism. We continue to cooperate with regional and global partners to fight terrorist activities and the radical ideologies that stand behind them.

· Egypt is an integral member of the anti-Daesh coalition, as it is home to Al-Azhar and Dar Al-Ifta’, the global bastions of moderate Islamic thinking, and through them Egypt provides the coalition with the necessary ideological resources to combat the roots of terrorism and radicalization. Egypt is also the Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council, through which it has worked to enhance international coordination and cooperation in counterterrorism, and find sustainable solutions that target the roots of radicalism.

Egypt’s Non – Permanent Seat in the Security Council:

· Following the success of the June 30 revolution in reclaiming the Egyptian state and empowering the will of the people, Egyptian diplomacy undertook determined efforts to restore Egypt’s role on the regional and international stages.

· This culminated in Egypt’s election to a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in 2015, with wide support from the General Assembly, reflecting the international community’s support for Egypt and its role in maintaining international peace and security and promoting African, Arab and developing world causes.

· Egypt has recently been selected to head three specialized committees in the Security Council, namely the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the UN Sanctions Committees Concerning both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq.

· Egypt’s priorities within the Council are topped by Arab and African issues, combating terrorism, and conflict resolution in the Middle East, as well as the Palestinian cause. Egypt is the only Arab state in the council at a time in which the region faces significant challenges, and as such Egypt works through its membership in the council to protect Arab interests and present constructive solutions to African and Arab crises.

3. The agency bases its work on the following principles and strategic objectives: the promotion of South / South cooperation, supporting economic integration between Egypt and African countries, help African and Islamic countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals that have not been implemented, and conclude innovative partnerships at both the international and national levels.

4. The Agency prepared the first African Forum for Investment and Trade, which was held under the patronage of the President of the Republic, and was inaugurated in the presence of the presidents of Sudan, Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia's Prime Minister and President of the African Development Bank. Africa 2016 is considered the first investment forum to be held in Africa for Africa. It is an initiative of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was organized under the umbrella of the African Union, and with the participation of the foreign, investment, trade and industry, and international cooperation ministries, the African Development Bank, and the COMESA investment agency. The forum was attended by more than 1,200 people, including leaders of governments and the private sector from Africa and its development partners.

5. The total number of trainees until June 2015: 1,762.