Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Tuesday said his visit to France was an important opportunity to share visions and boost cooperation between the two countries.

"The convergence of views we had during our discussions could reaffirm our political will to consolidate the strategic partnership between Egypt and France and build on it to achieve the ambitious aspirations of our two friendly peoples, especially since this partnership has marked the distinguished and fruitful cooperation that started decades ago until it has become an institutional effort," said el-Sisi.

Under el-Sisi and Macron, Egypt and France have enjoyed warm relations and cooperation in various fields, including security, economy, trade, investment, education and transport.

The French president said on Monday his country would not condition the sale of arms to the North African state because he did not want to weaken Cairo's ability to counter terrorism in the region.

The comment was in response to criticism by rights groups against what they allege are human rights violations by the Egyptian government.

"I will not condition matters of defense and economic cooperation on these disagreements," Macron said during a joint press conference with el-Sisi.

"It is more effective to have a policy of demanding dialogue than a boycott which would only reduce the effectiveness of one our partners in the fight against terrorism," he added.