Calls for forming international coalition

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has called for forming an international coalition against terrorism to combat terrorist group Daesh and offer all kinds of support for the countries which wage wars against terrorist organizations whatever their names are.

In an interview with the Portuguese news agency on Sunday, the president said terrorism is the real enemy of countries, pointing out that terrorism is not only restricted to Iraq, Syria and Libya but also tries to penetrate other countries.

President Sisi called for working on forming wide-scale strategy to tackle economic, social and intellectual aspects in order to improve the lives of citizens.

The president warned that the battle in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the military defeat of Daesh would lead to the escape of the terrorist groups' elements to other countries, calling for preventing the terrorists from fleeing to other areas in the region.

He said the European officials are irked by the problem of illegal refugees, calling on world countries to focus on resolving the root of the problem.

On conditions in Egypt's Sinai, the president said the terrorists in Egyptian peninsula must not be called insurgents or revolutionaries but they must be called terrorists.

President Sisi said Egypt's population hit 92 million people, which means the figure is higher than the population figures of Iraq, Syria and Libya, so it would be difficult to imagine the numbers of illegal refugees who would leave if the matter spins out of control.

President Sisi expressed keenness on striking a balance between achieving security and confronting attempts to destabilize the country on one hand and the values of democracy, human rights and freedoms on the other.

On the election of Donald Trump as a US president, President Sisi said Trump's win is the American people's choice, expressing appreciation for Trump and praising Egyptian-American relations.

President Sisi praised Egyptian-Portuguese relations and sent a message to the Portuguese people saying that Egypt is secure and stable and all Egyptian tourist destinations and airports are safe.

President Sisi expressed Egypt's desire to promote cooperation with Portugal in the economic domains and other areas, praising Portugal's stance towards the incidents which occurred in Egypt and the diplomatic support for Cairo.

Source: MENA