Speech by Sisi at Joint Press Conference with President of Rwanda

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi delivered a speech at a joint press conference with his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, at Ittahadiya Palace in eastern Cairo, according to Presidency Spokesperson Bassam Rady.

Here is the full readout of the speech given by Sisi: 

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful"

My brother,

Your Excellency, President Paul Kagame

President of the Republic of Rwanda

Ladies and Gentlemen

It gives me pleasure today to welcome His Excellency President Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda, whose visit to Cairo bears meanings of fraternity and bonds between Egypt and Rwanda and reflects the robust bilateral relations they share. The visit also comes as a continuation of the ongoing engagement and coordination on the various bilateral and regional issues between our countries.

We highly appreciate our high level of understanding and alignment in views with regard to a multitude of issues. We are keen on exchanging views in appreciation of his Excellency’s role regionally and at the continental level, and of his profound and valuable vision regarding issues of mutual concern.

Within this context, I would like to express Egypt’s appreciation of and pride on Rwanda’s leading experience in development under his leadership, which has taken the country from the phase of challenges and hardships to the phase of achieving the ambitious developmental vision across all levels, as an inspiring African success story, which bore fruit during the past period.

Ladies and Gentlemen

We discussed today the progress achieved in the various aspects of our bilateral relations over the past period, which saw serious steps to further strengthen and advance relations at the political, economic, and security levels. We agreed that despite the numerous achievements we made in developing these relations, we have yet numerous opportunities to further promote them.

We agreed today to continue the political consultations and coordination which are already existing between us, in order to step-up cooperation and coordination of our countries’ positions with regard to regional issues of mutual interest.

We also agreed on the need to increase the rates of trade exchange, which has seen remarkable progress over the past two years despite the COVID-19 pandemic. We agreed to leverage our countries’ huge capabilities and potential for cooperation, advance economic partnerships, either at the official level or between the two countries’ private sectors, and facilitate Egyptian investments in Rwanda, stemming from our belief in the role of the private sector in boosting economic cooperation between the two countries.

We explored the ongoing cooperation between our countries in the medical, communications, information technology, and digitization fields, and I would like to laud Rwanda’s valued efforts in this regard.

With regard to the capacity-building process, which aims to bolster development, I stressed Egypt’s commitment to continue mobilizing its capabilities and work on providing training and capacity-building of Rwandan cadres in an array of fields, in coordination with the various Egyptian authorities.

On another front, we discussed the Renaissance Dam dossier. I reiterated the importance of joint cooperation among all Nile Basin countries, out of our commitment to joint interests and not harming any of them. I also underscored Egypt’s rejection of any unilateral measures that shall affect the resources of the people, particularly those relying on the Nile River as the sole artery of life and development.

I also stressed the need to reach a legally binding agreement on filling and operating the Renaissance Dam within an appropriate time frame, in a manner that enhances regional security and stability based on the rules of international law and Security Council decisions.

Our talks also dealt with issues of security and development in the African continent, including the spread of terrorism, which constitutes a tangible challenge to the development process in Africa. In this regard, I presented the successful Egyptian efforts in the field of combating terrorism, as it pointed to Egypt’s establishment of the Sahel-Saharan Counter Terrorism Center, praising, in turn, the Rwandan efforts in the peacekeeping operations of the United Nations in Africa.

We also exchanged views on various African issues on the ground.

During my talks with President Kagame, I discussed our joint cooperation and coordination within the framework of the African Union, as well as the COMESA grouping ,which Egypt currently chairs, and we agreed on the importance of expediting the conclusion and activation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

In this context, I affirmed Egypt's support for the institutional reform process of the African Union and our appreciation for His Excellency's efforts in this regard, as he is a pioneer in this key dossier.

Finally, with regard to Egypt’s hosting and presidency of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 27) in November 2022, I affirmed Egypt’s keenness, during that presidency, to express the aspirations of the countries of our African continent in this field and our determination that the conference results in concrete implementation outcomes that achieve a major shift in the field of joint international action towards the climate.

Dear Honorable President Paul Kagame,

I express to you, once again, my gratitude for your honorable presence and my appreciation for our constructive discussions today, which confirmed our mutual keenness to consolidate our strategic relations to achieve our common interests. I wish your Excellency and the brotherly people of Rwanda further progress and stability.

Thank you.