Josep Borrell on his arrival in Cairo: "Egypt plays a key role in the region"

The tour by the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, began on Tuesday in Libya and will continue for three days in Egypt.

This is Borrell's first visit as head of European diplomacy to Cairo where he will discuss bilateral relations and partnerships between the European Union and Egypt, as well as regional issues, paying special attention to the crisis in Libya, the peace process in the Middle East following the cooperation agreement signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and the Great Dam of the Renaissance in Ethiopia.

During his visit the high-ranking representative met the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, and the defence minister, Mohammed Ahmed Zaki.

"He began an important visit to Cairo with an in-depth exchange with President al-Sisi. Egypt plays a key role in the region and we are striving to strengthen the relationship and to continue cooperating on issues of mutual interest. The EU and Egypt are strong partners", the Spanish politician tweeted his arrival in the Egyptian capital. 

The issue that most concerns the region is the powder keg that Libya has become. Egypt supports the Libyan National Army, led by Marshall Khalifa Haftar, and has warned that it will not allow Turkey, which supports Fayez Sarraj's Government of National Accord (GNA), to take control of the strategic city of Sirte.

At the beginning of the week Josep Borrell visited Tripoli, where he met the leader of the GNA to analyse the civil war that has been raging in the country since 2015. Since the fall of Muammar al-Qadhafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been the centre of successive conflicts.

On 21 August last, Sarraj announced an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of all hostilities with the authorities who control the whole of the east of the country.

The ceasefire was endorsed by the leader of the Parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk, Aquila Saleh. 

This announcement was praised by Egyptian President Al-Sisi, one of Haftar's main supporters.

The decision to cease hostilities enabled the country's power plants to resume operating after lifting the blockade on the production and export of crude oil that had been in place since February. Libya was producing around 1.8 million barrels of crude oil a day before the 2011 revolt and is currently producing barely 100,000 units a day.