Sisi Holds Talks with Senior Officials on G-20 Sidelines

During his participation at G-20 summit, President Abdel  Fattah El Sisi held a series of meetings and summits; Egypt plays a pivotal role in the Mideast region and at the global and regional levels.

Mini-coordination summit

President El Sisi took part in a mini-coordination summit this morning on the sidelines of the G20 meetings in Osaka. This summit brought together South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Senegalese President Macky Sall.

Egypt's head of state pointed out to the importance of achieving balance and mutual interest between African countries and international partners, stressing the need to emphasize Africa’s openness to cooperation with various countries all over the world.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said that the mini-summit aims to unify the African countries’ voices  during their  international meetings with the strategic partners, such as the meetings of G-20.

Radi added that African participants agreed, during the mini summit, to highlight the development priorities of  African countries during the G-20 meetings. One of the priorities included the African Development Agenda 2063.

In a meeting with his African leaders, President El Sisi emphasized that Africa has taken a major step on the path of continental economic integration through the entry into force of African Free Trade Agreement, the spokesman noted.

China-Africa mini summit

In addition, President El Sisi participated at China-Africa mini summit on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. This summit brought together Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

During this summit, El Sisi affirmed Egypt's keenness to play an active and supportive role to achieve the desired objectives of partnership between China and Africa, especially under its current presidency of the African Union, Radi said.

In this context, the President pointed out to the importance of developing practical models for enhancing China's cooperation with Africa through effective partnerships and finding the best ways to finance infrastructure projects in Africa.

"This projects promote the movement of intra-African trade, improve economic conditions and provide employment opportunities for African youth," President El Sisi said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese president highlighted the outcomes  of the Second Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last April, stressing that this initiative is complementary to China-Africa partnership.

On the other hand, the African leaders participating in the summit praised China's commitment to support all development projects in Africa, expressing their aspiration to make optimal use of new Chinese pledges announced during the Belt and Road Initiative.

Senior meetings

"Egypt's head of state also  held talks this morning with leaders and senior officials on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka," Radi said.

The president met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman,  French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of India, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, Director of World Health Organization, head of the Council of Europe and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

By: Basant Ahmed