EU to boost ties with Egypt: presidency

The European Union has decided to deepen its relations with Egypt, the Czech EU presidency announced on Monday. Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said that the bloc had decided to set up a group to ‘consider ways of strengthening bilateral relations’ after EU-Egypt talks in Luxembourg. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said that it was the ‘right moment’ to start with the upgrading, though cautioned that the strengthening of relations with Cairo ‘would take a certain time’. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Abul Gheit, who attended the Luxembourg meeting, expressed the hope that the discussions could lead to an effective deepening of ties in 2010.