Egypt's Sisi eyes deepening cooperation with China during Sept visit

CAIRO - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has said that he is looking forward to a visit to Beijing in September to deepen the mutually beneficial cooperation between Egypt and China.

Sisi made the remarks on Wednesday at a meeting with Chen Min'er, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee.

Chen conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's congratulation to Sisi on his re-election as Egyptian president.

He also hailed the historic friendship between the two countries. "Under the auspices of both presidents, the deepening comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has delivered fruitful outcomes in various domains in recent years," he said.

Chen welcomed Sisi to attend the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit to be held in Beijing in September.

He highlighted that China is willing to work with Egypt to implement the important consensus reached by both countries' leaders, combine each other's developing strategies, push forward pragmatic cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and achieve common development.

"China values Egypt's influence, and is willing to boost coordination and cooperation with Egypt on international and regional issues," Chen said.

For his part, Sisi asked Chen to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi, adding that he is looking forward to attending the FOCAC Summit in Beijing.

Sisi said he admires the great achievements made by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC and highly values Egypt's comprehensive strategic partnership with China.

"Egypt is keen on furthering the mutually beneficial cooperation with China," Sisi said, adding that he welcomes Chinese companies to invest in Egypt and participate in the country's development.

Sisi introduced to Chen Egypt's perspectives on relevant global and regional issues, expressing Egypt's willingness to boost cooperation with China to safeguard the interests of developing countries.

Chen also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and leaders of major Egyptian parties during his two-day visit that ended on Thursday.