Italy, Egypt work to prop up tolerance between civilizations

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Monday received the head of the foreign relations committee at the Italian parliament and his accompanying delegation.

Following the meeting, the Italian parliamentary official said he had discussed with Maher the current Middle East situation in light of the Italian parliament's interest in the issue.

The Italian parliament has recently adopted a memorandum calling for holding an international peace conference and dispatching international observers to watch implementation of a Palestinian-Israeli truce.

The Italian parliamentarian official described Egyptian Italian ties as excellent. He reaffirmed that the Italian government was determined to develop and boost such relations.

"The delegation discussed with the Egyptian side the issue of partnership between Egypt and the European government and welcomed such a drive as a new impetus to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership," he said.

The delegation also expressed its willingness to prop up Arab-Italian ties on a basis of equality between the two sides and tolerance between different civilizations and religions.