Al-Sisi arrived in the capital, Luanda, on Tuesday evening as the first Egyptian president to visit Angola, on the first leg of his tour.
In a statement, the Egyptian presidency clarified, of which Sky News Arabia obtained a copy, the details of Sisi’s African tour:
The tour of the Southern Africa region is part of Egypt’s desire to intensify communication and coordination with its African brothers, and to continue to strengthen its relations with the countries of the continent in various areas, in particular by strengthening mutual cooperation on economic, trade and investment levels. The tour confirms the high priority given to African issues in Egyptian foreign policy. During the African tour, the Egyptian president is expected to hold a series of bilateral talks with the leaders of African countries. With the aim of discussing mechanisms to strengthen aspects of bilateral cooperation with Egypt, and how to address the concerns of the African continent. The tour addresses the evolution of regional issues and issues of common interest, as well as avenues of cooperation to crystallize joint African frameworks for action with the aim of advancing the development process and promoting economic integration on the continent. During his visit to the Zambian capital, Lusaka, Sissi will take part in the proceedings of the 22nd summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which will see the handover of the rotating presidency of the assembly from Egypt to the Zambia.
Crises… and cooperation
For his part, a member of the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Council and former assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Rakha Ahmed Hassan, told Sky News Arabia that the visit has several dimensions, both in terms of the strengthening joint cooperation between Cairo and African capitals, in a way that strengthens Egyptian national security and presence on the continent, while seeking to resolve the crises raging in a number of African countries.
Hassan explained the details of the files which will be on the priorities of the Egyptian president in a number of points, saying:
The visit aims to discuss the horizons of cooperation with the countries of Angola, Zambia and Mozambique, whether in the field of trade and joint projects, as Egypt is implementing a number of projects in Luanda, and we are looking to increase them. The tour includes dealing with African issues, whether it is the economic crisis that has afflicted the world in the past two years, by which African countries have been badly affected, then the emphasis of cooperation between these countries will be major during discussions, and at the heart of this is the problem of food security and the promotion of investments within this framework. Political crises on the continent will be on the agenda of the talks between the leaders during the tour, particularly those facing Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Central Africa. Certainly, the conflict in Sudan will figure prominently in the discussions between President Sisi and heads of state, given that Sudan borders 7 countries, and Cairo is trying to participate in the search for a quick solution to stop the fights between the two parties. to the conflict in cooperation with the African Union. The tour includes an explanation and clarification of the Egyptian view regarding the Renaissance Dam crisis, the impact of the dam on the lives of Egyptians, and the need to reach a binding legal agreement to secure the rights of all parties. The issue of the fight against terrorism will also be present during the tour, given the expansion of terrorist groups in Africa and their activities in a number of regions. Egypt will cede the rotating presidency of the “COMESA” summit to Zambia, and will stress the need to increase the volume of trade between the countries of the continent.
Promote trade
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry, the volume of Egyptian investments in Africa increased in 2021 by $1.2 billion to reach $10.2 billion, noting that total African investments in Egypt increased. amounted to approximately $2.8 billion.
For his part, the head of the Egyptian-African Businessmen’s Association, Yousri El-Sharkawy, told Sky News Arabia that Egypt is striving to have a strong presence in Africa after many years of neglect. , and therefore constantly seeks to increase the volume of mutual trade. investments with the countries of the continent.
He added that Egypt needs more attention from the government to support small and micro projects, while expanding business activities and events, and rebuilding the personality of the Egyptian product in African depth.
He continued, “The language of dialogue in the African financial and business community needs to differ in the language of inbound and outbound, not just exports, so that it can deepen and adopt a more cooperative methodology, and the need for increase government and private banking on the continent, and especially to fix the flaws in the free trade area agreement.”
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