CAIRO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ambassador of the European Union to Egypt Ivan Surkos said on Thursday that 24 heads of state of the EU will come to Sharm el-Sheikh this week to attend the first EU-Arab League Summit scheduled on Feb. 24-25.

"European leaders are strongly interested in enhancing cooperation with our Arab neighbors," Surkos said on his Twitter account.

President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel all announced they will attend the summit.

The EU-Arab League summit will bring together for the first time heads of state or government from both sides.

EU President Donald Tusk will co-chair the meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Leaders from both sides will seek to strengthen Arab-European ties and address a wide range of issues and common challenges, such as multilateralism, trade, investment, migration, security and regional situation.