ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and Egypt on Saturday agreed to strengthen cooperation for joint police training programmes besides enhancing collaboration between the interior ministries of two countries. The understanding was reached in a meeting of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry with a delegation from Egypt’s Ministry of Interior led by Major General Magdy Helal. The delegation included Brigadier Essam Abu Al-Khair, Brigadier Engineer Mohammad Razi, and Brigadier Dr. Mohammad Munir. The two sides held discussions on promoting collaboration in the fields of security, counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, cybercrime and Safe City projects. It was also decided to strengthen cooperation between the National Police Academy and Egypt’s Police Academy for joint training programmes for officers. During the meeting, Naqvi was quoted as saying this by the Ministry of Interior in a statement that the visit of the Egyptian delegation would help explore new avenues for bilateral cooperation. He added that practical measures would be taken to further strengthen relations with Egypt. He further said a Pakistani delegation would soon visit Egypt to identify new opportunities for cooperation in areas of mutual interest. He emphasized that increased collaboration between the interior ministries of both countries would reinforce bilateral ties.Minister of State Chaudhry said there were broad opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of counterterrorism, counter-narcotics and internal security. The Egyptian delegation stated that visits to various institutions, including the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) and the National Police Academy, had been highly productive. They noted that both countries could benefit from each other’s experiences in different sectors. Interior Minister Naqvi also conveyed his best wishes to his Egyptian counterpart. Federal Interior Secretary Muhammad Khurram Agha and other senior officials were also present on the occasion.
