Egyptian, Ukrainian presidents discuss food security, bilateral ties in phone call

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed food security and bilateral relations between Kyiv and Cairo, including energy cooperation, during a phone call on Friday.

Following their call, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to his Egyptian counterpart for his attention to the challenges concerning food security and the situation in the Black Sea region, describing their conversation as "much-needed."

"Ukraine is one of the largest food suppliers to Egypt and to a significant number of other countries in Africa and the Middle East," Zelenskyy said in an evening statement on US social media platform X, noting that these supplies are now under "serious" threat due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

There is already a "significant" reduction in food supplies, Zelenskyy argued, stressing that this could have "very serious consequences due to rising prices and shortages."

"Today, we discussed how to counter this and protect lives. Together, we are looking for solutions," Zelenskyy added, saying that they also discussed energy cooperation and bilateral relations.

"We agreed that our teams would work through everything we discussed. And separately, I want to thank the President for his view that diplomacy must succeed in bringing the war to an end," he said.

Citing presidential spokesman Mohamed El-Shennawy, a statement by the Egyptian presidency said the two presidents discussed ways to advance bilateral ties across various fields, noting they agreed to increase bilateral trade and explore cooperation opportunities in "a number of promising sectors."

The statement further said that the call touched on developments in the Middle East, stating Sisi highlighted Egypt's ongoing efforts to de-escalate regional tensions and called for "concerted regional and international efforts to halt the current escalation, taking into account its negative impact on security, stability, and international trade."

"The Ukrainian President, for his part, commended Egypt's efforts in this regard, noting his alignment with the President's vision regarding the necessity of de-escalating the current tensions," it went on to say.

Concerning developments surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war, the statement said Zelenskyy expressed his appreciation for Egypt's commitment to ending the war, while Sisi reiterated Cairo's support for a political settlement and his country's readiness to provide support for efforts to reach a political resolution as soon as possible.

Prior to their call on Friday, the two presidents last held a phone conversation in April.