Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has stressed the importance of reaching an Arab consensus on the neighborhood policy with the EU.

He pressed for issuing a unified Arab paper to that effect, adding that the paper should also take into consideration the best interests of the Arab countries.

Addressing a ministerial meeting that grouped his counterparts in Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in Beirut Wednesday, Shoukry said the sovereignty of south Mediterranean countries should be respected.

But Shourky still stressed that the EU is an important and strategic partner of Arab countries.

Shoukry will later attend a meeting of Arab and European parties, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Badr Abdel Aati.