It was the first Israeli prime ministerial visit to Egypt in a decade.

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in the coastal resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday.

It was the first Israeli prime ministerial visit to Egypt in a decade.

A statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office said the two leaders discussed a series of topics, including “ways to deepen and strengthen cooperation between the states, with an emphasis on broadening mutual trade, and a long series of regional and international issues.”

Bennett thanked President El-Sisi for Egypt’s important role in the region and noted that in the over 40 years since it was signed, the peace agreement between the two countries continues to serve as a foundation for security and stability in the Middle East.

He als emphasized Egypt’s significant role in maintaining the security stability in the Gaza Strip and in finding a solution to the issue of the Israeli captives and missing.

The two leaders also discussed ways to prevent a nuclear Iran and the need to halt that country’s regional aggression.

They agreed to continue deepening the cooperation and dialogue between the two countries in all spheres. ‘’During the meeting, first and foremost, we created a foundation for deep ties in the future,’’ said Bennett upon his return to Israel.

‘’Israel is increasingly opening up to the countries of the region, and the basis of this longstanding recognition is the peace between Israel and Egypt. Therefore, on both sides we must invest in strengthening this link, and we have done so today,” he said.

Bennett was the first Israeli Prime Minister to publicly visit Egypt since his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu met with former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 also in Sharm El-Sheikh.

The Jerusalem Post noted that back then there was only one flag at the meeting, the Egyptian one. This time, the Israeli and Egyptian leaders sat next to flags from both countries.

In an unusual show of Egyptian comfort level with an Israeli high-level meeting, Sisi’s office announced Bennett’s presence in Sharm e-Sheikh, rather than leaving Israel to publicize the event.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, but it has been considered as a “”cold peace’’.

According to journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, an expert on Palestinian and Arab affairs, Egyptian President El-Sisi meeting with Bennett is part of Egypt’s efforts to resume its pivotal role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Sisi’s effort to depict himself as a peacemaker and curry favor with the Biden administration.