CAIRO, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Italy will send a new ambassador to Cairo after recalling its former envoy more than a year ago following the death of an Italian student found in Egypt's capital, spokesman for Egypt's foreign ministry said on Monday.
In a phone call, the Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano told his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry that Italy was willing to send Ambassador Giampaolo Cantini to Cairo, Ahmed Abu Zaid, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
Alfano told Shoukry that Italy hoped the upcoming period would see a push in the Italian-Egyptian relations in all fields, Abu Zaid added.
Alfano said earlier in a brief statement that in light of the recent developments in the investigation on the student's death achieved by a cooperation between Egypt and Italy, the Italian government had decided to send ambassador to Cairo.
He referred to a joint statement issued by the Egyptian prosecutor-general and his Italian counterpart released Monday on the developments in the murder case of the Italian national.
"The Italian government is still committed to finding the truth in regards to the murder of Giulio Regeni," he said in the statement.
28-year-old Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni was found dead on a roadside nine days after his disappearance on Jan. 25, 2016, with his body tortured and half-naked.
The murder has cast a shadow on the diplomatic relations between the two countries, after which Italy decided to call back its then ambassador from Egypt.
A few weeks later, the Egyptian police said they found Regeni's handbag with his passport and student ID card during an operation to bust a Cairo-based gang of five people.
Regeni's disappearance came amid intensive security in Cairo and other major cities in Egypt ahead of the anniversary of the Jan. 25 uprising that toppled long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
