Sisi Seeks Further Cooperation With Siemens, EBRD

On the sidelines of the Investment in Africa Forum, known as Africa 2019 Conference, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was convened with President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG Joe Kaeser and President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti.

Investment in Africa Forum kicked off earlier on Friday in the New Administrative Capital.

"President Sisi welcomed Siemens CEO; lauding the company's latest achievements in the developmental sector in Egypt," said Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady on Saturday.

The President believes that Siemens is a key partner to the Egyptian state, according to Rady. "Sisi said that Egypt is looking forward to continuing and upgrading the existing partnership with Siemens in various fields."

On his part, Kaeser hailed the "unprecedented achievements" made in Egypt in the areas of development and infrastructure.

"During the meeting, Kaeser briefed President Sisi on the executive situation of joint projects being implemented in Egypt at different levels including contribution to vocational training and rehabilitation of Egyptian cadres," Rady added.

On the fringe of the Africa Investment Forum 2019, Sisi met with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Chairman Sir Suma Chakrabarti.

"Egypt is looking forward to furthering cooperation with EBRD," Sisi said Saturday.

Welcoming the bank's participation in the two-day forum, Sisi applauded the EBRD contributions to various sectors of development in Africa.

The president underscored Egypt's willingness to explore further cooperation opportunities with the EBRD given the comprehensive sustainable development projects underway in the country, especially in the fields of energy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), water treatment and desalination.

Meanwhile, Chakrabarti hailed the robust ties between the bank and Egypt's financial institutions.

He also commended Egypt's successful economic reform program, which he said helped bring about economic recovery, boost growth and attract more foreign direct investments.

Moreover, Chakrabarti underlined the bank's commitment to further cooperation with Egypt by funding more projects that drive the development process in the country.

He also praised Egypt's pivotal role in preserving security and stability across the Middle East, southern Mediterranean and Africa.

The meeting also took up means of fostering economic, political and development cooperation at the African level, especially by supporting regional integration initiatives among African states to achieve the goals of sustainable development.