Rome: Alaa Farouk, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, met with his Spanish counterpart, Luis Planas, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food of Spain, to discuss ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two countries. This meeting is part of efforts to strengthen relations with EU countries and boost Egypt's agricultural exports in global markets.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the meeting took place on the sidelines of the sixth conference of the Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security of the African and European Unions, held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy.

During the meeting, both sides focused on vital areas to enhance food security and sustainable agricultural development, particularly cooperation in water management and its efficient use, as well as adopting modern field irrigation techniques.

Alaa Farouk emphasized the importance of collaboration with the Spanish side in areas such as modern irrigation and smart agriculture based on advanced technologies, in addition to exchanging expertise in agricultural value chains and encouraging agricultural investment.

For his part, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture praised the quality of Egyptian agricultural products and the good global reputation they enjoy in many markets. He expressed his hope that joint cooperation would enhance trade exchange of agricultural and food products between the two countries and extended an invitation to his Egyptian counterpart to visit Spain, especially with a large agricultural exhibition set to take place in Madrid at the end of this year.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Saad Moussa, supervisor of foreign agricultural relations, and Mina Rizk, the alternate representative in UN organisations at the Egyptian embassy.