CAIRO, June 10 (MENA) – Egypt has managed to foster rapprochement with various African states over the past few years, and is even moving forward along the road towards economic development in cooperation with African brethren, former diplomats said.
Under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt gives unprecedented priority to its relations with African countries, the diplomats said, praising Sisi’s first-of-its-kind African tour last week, which covered the states of Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique.
The tour, which saw President Sisi’s participation in the 22nd Summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in Lusaka, reflected the political leadership’s determination to deepen cooperation with the countries on the continent, the diplomats added.
The African axis has been on top of the country’s foreign policy agenda ever since President Sisi took office, former deputy foreign minister Ali El Hefni said in statements to MENA on Saturday.
He noted that prominent among the positive results of Sisi’s recent tour is that African states became more cognizant of Egypt’s commitment to furthering cooperation and coordination on regional issues of common concern.
Egypt is bound by robust relations with its fellow African countries since time immemorial, but these relations have gained a stronger momentum over the past few years, Hefny said, adding that each of Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique are interested in making use of Egypt’s expertise in many areas.
Suffering from terrorism, Mozambique seeks to benefit from Egypt’s counterterrorism experience; whereas Angola eyes transferring Egypt’s expertise in agriculture, industry, and infrastructure domains, while also looking forward to joining the Egyptian business community in development projects, Hefny added.
Hefny also highlighted the importance of Sisi’s participation in the COMESA summit on Thursday, where he handed over the summit’s chairmanship to his Zambian counterpart Hakainde Hichilema.
