Emmanuel Macron receives Egyptian President in Paris
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace on Monday during an official state visit. The two presidents discussed regional crises, in particular the tensions in the Mediterranean related to Turkey.
The visit, which follows the French president's trip to Egypt in January 2019, aims to strengthen relations between Paris and Cairo, a "strategic partner" and "essential to stability" in the Middle East, as the AFP agency reports.
Al-Sisi's state visit to France, which began this Sunday and will end tomorrow, Tuesday, has been criticised by various NGO groups which are calling on Macron to be firm in its demands for respect for human rights.
Several of these rights organisations have accused the French president of turning a blind eye to what they say are growing violations of freedoms by Al-Sisi's government in the face of the new US administration, which has promised to take a tougher stance on human rights abuses.
This trip comes three weeks after Egypt arrested three directors of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and dissolved this organisation, one of the last independent organisations fighting for the defence of human rights in that country, as denounced by HRW in a collective letter sent to Macron.
In November Macron's government criticised Egypt for the arrest of members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) after they informed senior diplomats in Cairo and were met with a firm reprimand.
The French president claimed to be "the constant advocate of democratic openness" and of "a dynamic and active civil society", welcoming Cairo's recent release of "three NGO members", according to Efe.
"I have had the opportunity to raise the issue of human rights, as one does among friends, with confidence and frankness" and "I remain a constant advocate of democratic and social openness and recognition of a dynamic and active civil society", said Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference with President Al-Sisi.
The Egyptian president, for his part, called for his country not to be portrayed as a "despot" regime: "With all that it does for its people and for the stability of the region, the Egyptian state should not be portrayed as a despot regime. That is something that disappeared many years ago," he concluded.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, assured on Monday that his country will not make its co-operation with Egypt conditional on the human rights situation because a policy of boycott would weaken the effectiveness of Cairo's fight against terrorism or in favour of regional stability.
After receiving President Al-Sisi in Paris in October 2017, Emmanuel Macron visited Egypt in January 2019; Egypt has become a major client of France in the field of armaments, particularly after buying 24 Rafale fighter planes; during the visit the two leaders signed a number of contracts, particularly for the Cairo metro, but also publicly stated their disagreements on human rights.
