Sisi: Egypt Adheres to Africa Development Agenda 2063

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met on Tuesday in the New Administrative Capital with COMESA Secretary-General, Chileshe Kapwepwe, stressing that Egypt is determined to exert utmost efforts to continue the development in the various issues on the organization’s agenda, particularly by focusing on the sectors of economic integration and regional amalgamation.

Sisi asserted that Egypt looks forward to firmly coordinating and cooperating with the COMESA Secretariat in the coming period, so as to achieve the coveted objectives of Egypt’s chairmanship of the bloc on the path toward implementing Africa Development Agenda 2063 and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This aims to serve the interests of the bloc’s African member states and fulfill the aspirations of their peoples, notably in light of this critical and historic phase, which poses formidable challenges that impact the future of the entire continent, particularly with regard to efforts to address the repercussions of the coronavirus on African countries.

On her part, Kapwepwe underlined Egypt’s significance and leverage in the African continent, notably as it is one of the founding members of the Organization of African Unity, which constituted the first pillar for joint African action.

She expressed optimism regarding Egypt’s COMESA chairmanship to support efforts toward the application of Africa Development Agenda 2063, given President El-Sisi’s experience and thoughtful vision in dealing with African issues.

COMESA’s Secretary-General stressed the Secretariat’s support for President El-Sisi in his mission to steer the bloc’s collective action, taking into consideration the remarkable Egyptian hallmark in efforts to boost economic integration plans in the continent, develop its infrastructure, and boost intra-trade in addition to Egypt’s commitment to achieving a significant leap in this area, notably during its AU chairmanship.

"The meeting reviewed the main priority issues of the Egyptian chairmanship of COMESA," said Presidency Spokesperson Bassam Rady.

These include strengthening the organization countries’ resilience in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and any similar challenges in the future; enhancing regional supply chains among member states; boosting industrial integration; and increasing investment in cross-border infrastructure.

This is in addition to connectivity projects; focusing on cooperation in the fields of digital transformation and linking them with trade mechanisms; and relying on more sustainable production techniques, in light of Egypt’s hosting of the next round of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC.

The meeting also tackled ways to capitalize on COMESA’s entry into the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, taking into consideration the importance of the Free Trade Agreement between the three blocs, COMESA, SADC, and the EAC, which was launched in Sharm El-Sheikh in June 2015.

This forms the major foundation for the framework encompassing the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, the executive phase of which was also launched by Egypt during its AU chairmanship in 2019.

There was an agreement on the need to continue intensive consultations and engagement during the coming period to ensure a smooth decision-making process through the Egyptian COMESA chairmanship and to benefit from the Secretariat’s coordination role in this regard. This will help bolster ongoing efforts to achieve regional amalgamation and contribute to achieving the coveted goals of COMESA countries.