President Abdel Fattah El Sisi voiced his confidence that the Arab-Chinese summit would give impetus to Arab-Chinese cooperation in all forms.
Delivering a speech during the summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Sisi asserted that Egypt fully supports mechanisms of Arab-Chinese cooperation, inviting the Arab leaders and the Chinese president to Egypt to become the next host of the coming Arab-Chinese summit.
Hailing the deeply-rooted and historical relations among the Arab countries, Sisi noted that Arab-Chinese cooperation is based on maximizing common benefits and interests in the face of developmental challenges, promoting South-South Cooperation, maintaining international peace and security, preserving the international system based on the United Nations Charter and international law, and reaching peaceful political solutions to international and regional crises.
It is also based on rejecting the politicization of human rights issues, promoting a dialogue of civilizations and rapprochement of cultures, cooperation in facing the challenges of climate change, the spread of epidemics, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and combating terrorism and extremist ideas, the president pointed out.
Sisi highlighted that the food crisis and its ramifications are the most dangerous crises the world is facing, especially the developing countries, a matter that encourages bolstering the Arab-Chinese partnership in the face of such challenge.
The president called on the international community to reduce the debt burden on countries that suffer from high food and energy import bills in addition to working to strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system and reformulating the frameworks for the governance of the international economy and international financial institutions to be more fair and transparent.
He also pointed out that the Egyptian presidency of COP27 succeeded in reaching a large consensus about vital matters, topped by the launch of the Losses and Damage Fund.
He called on considering this summit as a new launchpad for economic cooperation between the Arab world and China, given that China is the biggest trade partner of a large number of Arab countries.
The areas of Arab-Chinese cooperation are not limited to the economic and development aspects, but also covers the political and cultural ones, the president said, citing the Chinese moderate stances toward various Arab issues, mainly the Palestinian cause.
In his speech, Sisi shed light on crises in Yemen, Syria, and Libya as well as combating terrorism in all its forms, warning of the dangers of the Arab water security.
He also called on Ethiopia to engage in negotiations with Egypt and Sudan to reach a binding legal agreement on the filling and operation of the dam in a way that achieves the common interests of all parties.
