British FM Johnson talks trade with Egypt's Sisi

CAIRO, EGYPT: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he looked forward to boosting trade with Egypt in a meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Saturday, the presidency said.

It is Johnson's first visit as foreign secretary to Egypt, where UK company investments reached $30 billion in 2016, according to Britain's Foreign Office.

The visit came as Egypt pushes for a resumption of British flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, which were suspended following a militant bombing that killed 224 holidaymakers on board a Russian airliner departing the resort.



"The two sides emphasised they would continue working on resuming flights from British airports to Sharm el-Sheikh," the presidency said in a statement.

Russia had suspended all flights to Egypt after the October 2015 bombing claimed by the Islamic State group.

In the meeting Johnson said his country "looked forward to boosting economic and trade cooperation with Egypt," the statement said.

Earlier in February, the UK prime minister's trade envoy Sir Jeffrey Donaldson visited Egypt with an economic delegation