Egyptian Greek presidents meet in Cairo

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Egyptian President Abdelfatah Al-Sisi said Thursday that terrorism poses the biggest challenge to security and stability of the Middle East.

Addressing a joint press conference with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos after their talks here, Al-Sisi welcomed the senior guest who pays his first visit to Egypt since he was elected on last 18 February 18.

"Egypt is the second country President Pavlopoulos visits after Cyprus which signals the special ties between the two countries," he said.

"Egypt and Greece maintain deep-rooted historical ties that date from 4,000 years ago, the Egyptian president noted.

On the summit talks, President Al-Sisi said they discussed in cordial atmospheres a range of issues relating to economic, commercial, political and security cooperation as well as the problem of illegal immigration.

The bilateral trade volume hit USD 1.6 billion last year, he said, voicing hope for even closer ties after the singing of several agreements during the meeting of the joint committee late last year.

On his part, President Pavlopoulos said the efforts to address the problems of the Middle East depend heavily on Egypt's leading role.

He highlighted the importance of combating terrorism on the national and international levels, relying on the relevant international laws.

He added that Greece and Egypt share the view that there is need to scale up the cooperation to fight terrorism and maintain stability and security of the Mediterranean region.