Macron invites Egypt’s Sisi to G7 summit

French President Emmanuel Macron has invited his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, to attend the 45th G7 Summit due on 25-27 August in France’s south-western city of Biarritz, the Egyptian presidency reported yesterday.

The presidency statement said that Sisi on Saturday received a telephone call from Macron, during which the two leaders discussed “the bilateral relations between Egypt and France, as well as some regional issues of common concern, particularly the Libyan issue.”

During the call, the two presidents stressed on the need for “a comprehensive political settlement in Libya supported by the United Nations (UN) to preserve Libya’s unity and territorial integrity.”

Sisi stressed on the importance of “restoring the role of the Libyan state institutions, including the Libya National Army (LNA) – supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and loyal to Khalifa Haftar.”

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On his part, Macron said that France was “keen on strengthening its ties with Egypt.” He also congratulated Sisi on “the success of the first-ever European Union (EU)-Arab League Summit,” which was held in February in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm EL-Sheikh.

International rights groups accuse Macron of “supporting Sisi’s oppressive human rights policy in Egypt in order to sell more weapons to Cairo and boost economic mutual ties.”

Since Sisi assumed office e in 2014, Egypt has been one of France’s biggest arms buyers. The military deals had included purchasing warships, aircrafts, missiles and radars.

In January, Macron paid his first visit to Egypt, during which he criticised the North African country’s human rights policies but said that “stability and durable peace go together with respect for individual dignity and the rule of law.” “The search for stability cannot be dissociated from the question of human rights,” the French president reiterated.