Sisi, African Leaders Hold Video Summit over Coronavirus

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi took part Wednesday in a mini-video-conference with a number of African leaders, headed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and current President of the African Union.

The African leaders who participated in the conference included: Presidents of Kenya, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the Presidents of Gabon, Niger, Tanzania, Rwanda and Chad Madagascar and the Sudanese Prime Minister.

They took part in the conference in their capacities as the current heads of the various regional economic groupings in Africa.

The conference also witnessed the participation of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the President of the African Union Center for Disease Control.

The Spokesperson of the Egyptian Presidency Ambassador Bassam Rady stated that the mini-summit took place to follow the results of previous summits among African leaders to discuss the repercussions of the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic to African countries and to discuss ways to deal with this crisis.

In this regard, President Sisi stressed the need for continued communication between African countries to coordinate efforts and promote joint continental work on tackling the coronavirus, as well as the great importance of regional economic groupings in Africa in this regard, 

Sisi also stressed the importance of strengthening the movement with international financial institutions and international partners to support African countries on the economic level in the medium and long term in light of the negative repercussions on the economies of countries as a result of the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, in addition to providing the necessary support from the medical and preventive supplies.

[caption id="attachment_124099" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sisi, African Leaders Hold Video Summit Over Coronavirus[/caption]

The Egyptian president also reviewed his country’s experience in dealing with the coronavirus crisis, especially with regard to supporting the health and economic sectors, pointing out that this experience showed the importance of solidarity and interdependence between peoples and the institutions of their countries in a framework of collective action to face the challenges resulting from similar crises.

Moreover, Sisi reaffirmed that facing the repercussions of the spread of the coronavirus epidemic should take place in parallel with the rest of the continental efforts to combat the various threats to the security and stability of African countries, especially terrorism and extremism.