Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Shalom Cohen held a press conference on Monday to mark the end of his five-year term in Egypt. Cohen commended political relations between Tel Aviv and Cairo, at the same time describing obstacles hindering cultural relations as "a tragedy."
Three prominent Egyptian journalists were present at the conference: Hussein Serag from October magazine, Yehia Ghanem from Al-Ahram, and Hossam el-Aidi from Al-Gamahir magazine. The other attendees were foreign reporters.
According to AFP, Cohen said that the number of visits made by senior level Israeli officials to Egypt over the past five years exceeds the number of visits made to some European countries or other very friendly countries.
The Israeli ambassador also mentioned that Egypt had received both Israeli President Shimon Perez and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu three times in one year.
"Egyptian-Israeli cooperation in security issues has attained an unprecedented level," Cohen said.
Meanwhile, Emad Gad, chief editor of Mokhtarat Israelia, a periodical published by Al-Ahram that features translated selections from the Israeli press, said that Cohen’s statements were "correct and logical," and pointed out that cooperation between the two countries over security issues is developing.
Israel has not caused any problems on the border with Egypt during Cohen’s five year term, said Gad, in contrast to Palestinian Hamas. Gad said Hamas’s militancy was responsible for the rapprochement between Egypt and Israel.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
