2 April , 2008… Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Ambassador Fatma El Zahra received Ambassador Alexander Slabi who visited Cairo within the framework of a tour which also included Tunisia , Algeria and Morocco within the framework of the Czech Republic's preparations  before becoming the EU President in the first half of 2009. Ambassador Fatma El Zahraa indicated that the Czech Official presented his initial conception of the priorities of the Czech Presidency to the EU, during the meeting , where the Assistant Foreign Minister highlighted the priority accorded by Egypt and Arab countries South of the Mediterranean to tackle issues of new and renewable energy, the environment and dialogue between cultures. The meeting also tackled means of coordination between the two countries concerning EuroMediterranean cooperation , and the current stance regarding the developments of the " Mediterranean Union " initiative. The Czech official stressed his country's keenness to coordinate with Cairo on these issues particularly with Egypt being the coordinator of the Arab group within the framework of the Barcelona Process. The Czech Official stressed the Mediterranean as a priority of the Czech Foreign Policy since its accession to the EU.