Egyptian leader eyes on infrastructure, connectivity

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday that "both Egypt and China hope to upgrade their bilateral ties to a new level" after he met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The Egyptian leader made the comments when addressing a forum gathering senior Egyptian officials and heads of Chinese businesses investing in his country. He is on a visit to China to attend the Sept 3 V-day commemorations.

Following remarks by the Chinese business tycoons, the Egyptian leader highlighted future cooperative potential in regard to infrastructure and connectivity.

The participation of Chinese firms in the industrial parks in Egypt has provided "good examples" for other areas within the country to follow, he said.

For China, Egypt is geographically important as it serves as a business pillar to offer a spreading reach to the African and Arabian markets, the president said.

He noted that the country is trying to improve the quality of farmland soil, and the construction of the industrial parks there has been booming in recent years.

Egypt is deliberating a law regarding investments and the government will continue the fight against corruption to better protect investors, he said.