Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry presided over a coordinatory meeting of the Arab group taking part in the EU neighborhood policy review in Barcelona on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdel Aati said.

Shoukry underlined the importance of Arab coordination to phrase the foundations the neighborhood policy with the EU in a way that meets the needs of Arab countries.

He added that the EU neighborhood policy with south Mediterranean countries should be based on mutual respect without the interference in countries' internal affairs.

The foreign ministers of Jordan, Palestine and Tunisia and representatives of Lebanon, Algeria and Morocco thanked Egypt for its keenness to achieve necessary coordination among the Arab group to guarantee their interests while reviewing the neighborhood policy with the EU, which is an important partner to the Arab world.