Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Sisi Heads to Beijing For 'Belt and Road' 2nd Forum


Wed 24 Apr 2019 | 02:36 PM
Yassmine Elsayed

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi heads today to Beijing to attend the 'Belt and Road' summit, upon an invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will see the participation of around 40 world leaders, as well as representatives from 100 countries.

An official statement by presidency read: "Egypt is keen to interact with the initiative given that it is one of China's pivotal partners in the initiative and has one of the most important maritime lanes for international trade".

On the sidelines of the summit, there will be a meeting between the Egyptian and Chinese presidents to discuss boosting the strategic partnership between the two countries to achieve their common interests.

The president will also hold meetings with a number of officials and members of the Chinese business community to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation in the economic, trade and investment fields.

According to the statement, the president will also meet with a number of heads of state and government to discuss ways of boosting bilateral cooperation and consultation on various regional and international issues.

Xi launched the Belt and Road initiative in 2013, the total value of projects in the scheme is at $3.67 trillion, spanning countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and South America, according to Reuters.

Visiting leaders will be headlined by Russia’s Vladimir Putin, as well as Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan, a close China ally and among the biggest recipients of Belt and Road investment, and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy, which recently became the first G7 country to sign on to the initiative.