President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi made a public speech when he attended the Third India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-3) with the presence of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday.
Al-Sisi expressed hopes that the summit will focus on fighting poverty, improving healthcare, and developing education within its target goals in accordance with African Union Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development announced in New York in September.
“India is one of the most important examples of cooperation between countries working for the well-being of developing one. It contributed to a transition in economic and technical fields of cooperation with Africa since 2008,” Al-Sisi said. “Given the many obstacles against development in Africa, we have to cooperate in conflict resolution and reinforce African Solutions for African Problems (ASAP) with Indian partnership as major contribution”.
Al-Sisi praised Egypt’s non-permanent membership acquired at the UN Security Council, as a representative of the African continent and that “developing countries must work on strengthening their positions in the international scene and decisions”.
He highlighted the importance of African-Indian coordination regarding negotiations on climate change, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, which will be held in Paris in December, where Al-Sisi aims to push forward Africa’s and other developing countries’ needs.
Mukherjee expressed appreciation to Al-Sisi’s visit, calling it “the foundation for a new era of partnership between India and Egypt”.
Mukherjee said India is the sixth largest trading partner and third largest export destination of Egypt and both countries have a history of working together for peace and development in the world. “The development of new industrial zones around the new Suez Canal provides an opportunity to strengthen economic ties,” Mukhejree said.
