Mr. Bård Glad Pedersen, State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, received Dr. Rev. Andrea Zaki, CEOSS General Director and a delegation from CEOSS at the Foreign Ministry in the capital Oslo, as part of CEOSS work in public diplomacy and international relations.
Dr. Andrea Zaki, said in a statement today, that the meeting dealt with the ongoing political process, and Egypt steps in the democratic transition. This transition will be made through commitment to establishing a real modern democracy based on respect for human rights, citizenship, equality before the law, and the involvement of all sectors of society in this process.
Also, there is a commitment to the road map, in which the adoption of a new constitution ended the first phase, and the second phase began yesterday and will end with the end of June to declare the new president, and parliamentary elections characterized by integrity and transparency.
Dr. Andrea explained that the meeting addressed the importance of the role played by civil society in Egypt, through standing by the government to help solve the problems of poverty and unemployment as the most serious issues facing society in the present time. The meeting also touched on the Islamic-Christian Relations that are currently in consensus and solidarity, especially during and after June 30revolution, which stressed the importance of national unity among all the sons of the nation, standing together against all forms of violence, and the rejection of the Egyptian church for any form of external interference under the premise of protecting Christians.
Mr. Bård ensured the support of the Norwegian government for the efforts of the Egyptian government to combat terrorism in all its forms, and that the Norwegian government is working to support Egypt more during the next phase, stressing that Egypt’s stability means the stability of the region.
