Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has chaired a meeting aimed at discussing ways to expand cooperation with countries in the African continent.
The meeting brought together Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and several ministers, including the ministers of electricity and renewable energy, finance, health and housing, trade and industry, agricultural and land reclamation, in addition to the head of General Intelligence.
Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency Bassam Rady said Sisi “gave instructions to expand the scope of cooperation with African countries and build bridges of communication with them."
He also advised to work hard in drafting and improving the mechanisms for joint African action.
The meeting addressed the steps taken to implement Egypt's plan of action for taking over the African Union presidency, especially with regard to achieving economic integration after the enforcement of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in May and the official launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area during the latest exceptional AU summit in Niamey, Niger, said Rady.
It also tackled Egypt's efforts to support infrastructure projects in Africa, such as the Cairo-Cape Town Highway as well as power and railway interconnection projects, which seek to boost continental integration, the spokesman added.
In a related development, several Egyptian and African lawmakers stressed during a meeting hosted at the Egyptian parliament the importance of issuing joint legislation and exchanging expertise.
They also shed light on the necessity of improving the investment climate, mainly in agriculture.
