BUDAPEST, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday said Egypt must strengthen its partnership with the Visegrad Four (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) as it is in a special position within the European Union (EU).
In a joint press conference with the prime ministers of the V4, al-Sisi said: "With a deeper partnership, we could ensure even more the safety and stability in the Mediterranean region. Cooperation is especially important in the fields of the fight against terrorism and extremist groups and ideologies, and in the handling of mass migration."
He added the ongoing Visegrad Four summit brought Egypt closer to the group.
The host of the conference, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, summed up the results of the discussions between the Egyptian leader and his group in one sentence: "It is our intention to strengthen the EU from the inside and from the outside as well."
Orban thanked Egypt for acting as a stabilizing factor in the region and congratulated it on having managed to consolidate its economy, and pursuing a policy aimed at national unity.
"We see Egypt as a country which, through its commitment to stability, also protects Hungary and Europe. Therefore, in addition to a spirit of friendship, we also have an interest in your success," Orban said.
"Egypt plays a very important role in the fight against terrorism in the Mediterranean region and is a country that is able to defend its borders and to stop migrants from getting to Europe by traversing his country's territories," Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
"The most effective tool against illegal migration is the protection of the external borders and the cooperation with the sending countries," he said, adding that there was great potential in economic cooperation between Egypt and the Visegrad Four.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka backed the opinion of its Slovak colleague, stressing: "Egypt actively fights against human smugglers and is able to stop their boats from leaving the ports to reach Europe."
Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said that the eradication of the network of human smugglers was the common interest of Egypt and the Visegrad Four, and that both parties had to work together in order to fight the causes of mass migration and their roots.
She added the Visegrad Four was reading to put its influence at work in order to help Egypt deepen its ties with the EU.
