By Hajer M'tiri
PARIS (AA) - French President Emmanuel Macron is to meet Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi next week, the Elysee confirmed on Thursday.
The Egyptian president will make an official visit to France from Oct. 23-25.
The two leaders -- meeting for the first time -- will discuss "common interests such as regional crises and the fight against terrorism, but also the situation of human rights to which France is particularly attentive," read an Elysee statement.
French Minister of Armies Sylvie Goulard met the Egyptian president in June to discuss military and security cooperation between Egypt and France.
France was the sixth largest investor in Egypt in 2016, with an estimated FDI stock of €3.5 billion ($4.1 billion) -- making it Egypt’s seventh largest supplier and 13th largest customer, according to the French foreign ministry.
Bilateral trade between the two countries increased in the first eight months of 2017, with an increase of 9.2 percent in French exports (€1.1 billion/$1.3 billion) and 21 percent in imports (€401.4 million/$478.8 million).
More than 160 French companies are based in Egypt and employ nearly 30,000 people across a wide range of sectors.
Egyptian Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said on Wednesday trade exchange volumes between Egypt and France saw notable progress in the period from January to August 2017.
Since a bloody military coup brought Sisi to power in 2014, relations between Cairo and Paris have been characterized by several major weapons procurement deals.
Relations between Turkey and Egypt have remained rocky since 2013. However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Sunday called for stepped-up trade relations with Turkey, going on to hint that he may eventually pay a visit to Ankara.