Egyptian, German leaders discuss Palestinian, Libyan issues

Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi

CAIRO, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a video meeting on Wednesday and discussed Middle East issues including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Libyan crisis.

The Egyptian president emphasized the need to work immediately on resuming direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis to resolve their decades-long conflict, said the Egyptian presidency in a statement.

For her part, Merkel praised Egypt's "successful" efforts in brokering the recent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that rules the Palestinian Gaza Strip. The truce was implemented after 11 days of fighting that left at least 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead.

Sisi and Merkel also addressed the current transitional stage in Libya and its upcoming elections in December, vowing continued coordination between Egypt and Germany in this regard.

They also discussed bilateral ties and further political, economic and security cooperation, as well as increasing German investments in Egypt, particularly in the fields of energy and transport.