Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi started Sunday a three-day state visit to Singapore, a first-of-its-kind visit that coincides with the south-east Asian country’s 50th anniversary of independence.
Al-Sisi is to meet with his Singaporean counterpart Tony Tan and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a visit that is a part of the Egyptian president’s Far East tour that will include Indonesia and China.
Al-Sisi’s meetings with the Singaporean officials “will reflect Egypt’s interest to enhance relations and benefit from Singapore’s wide experience in a number of areas, including port development and management, improving the quality of public and technical education, and management of water resources and water desalination”, according to a presidency statement.
Al-Sisi will explain during his visit foreign investment policies to foreign investors in Singapore. On the first day of his visit, Al-Sisi went to a religious centre in the capital and a water desalination and power generation station.
The delegation accompanying the president includes the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Water Resources and Irrigation, and Investment, as well as the Suez Canal Authority Chairman, and the president’s chief-of-staff and office director.
Singapore’s Ambassador in Cairo S. Premjith previously said the visit will “inject fresh momentum to the relationship, and will increase the frequency of exchanges on both sides”.
“I describe President Sisi’s visit to Singapore as historic,” he added.
On Tuesday, Al-Sisi will head to China where he will meet with President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and attend China’s Victory Day celebrations at Tiananmen Square, marking 70 years since the end of World War II.
