Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received on Monday the African ambassadors accredited in Cairo as part of the celebration of Africa Day, which this year coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
During the meeting, Minister Shoukry stressed the importance of Africa Day as an occasion to celebrate the founding fathers of the OAU and their contribution to putting the continent on the path of independence, unity and development, said Ambassador Ahmed Abou Zeid, the Foreign Ministry’s official spokesperson.
He also stressed that it is an opportunity to celebrate the progress made in promoting peace, security, governance and development in Africa, as well as to reflect in depth on the challenges and opportunities to realize the hopes and aspirations of the peoples of the continent for a better future.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also noted that the unity of the States of the continent and cooperation among them is the basis for overcoming any challenges they face, especially in today’s world of polarization and geopolitical tensions.
“In addition, the continent is suffering from multiple and successive crises in light of recovery efforts from the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic, the impact of the war in Ukraine, the food, energy and climate crises, and the rise in inflation and debt” . Shoukry said.
During the meeting, minister Shoukry highlighted Egypt’s continued commitment, as a founding member of the OAU, to exert all efforts to achieve the African interest and support brotherly African countries on bilateral and multilateral tracks.
He cited the important results of COP27 for the continent and Egypt’s extended contribution to peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts in Africa at the UN and African Union levels.
Shoukry pointed to Egypt’s efforts in light of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s leadership of the reconstruction and development file in the African Union, as well as the chairmanship of the Steering Committee of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union Development Agency, as pivotal tools to enhance the continent’s ownership of the peacebuilding and development agenda.
“Egypt is keen to intensify its co-operation with international partners and financing institutions to bridge the financing gap for development projects on the continent, alleviate the debt burden and implement the continent’s Agenda 2063”, he said, adding that Egypt is also working with sister African countries to activate the continental free trade zone.
Minister Shoukry pointed out that the celebration of Africa Day represents an opportunity to renew the commitment and determination of the countries of the continent collectively to the principles of unity, solidarity and cooperation to achieve African priorities and to uplift the lives and aspirations of the peoples of the continent towards a bright future.
During the meeting, there was an open dialog between the Foreign Minister and the African ambassadors on various issues and challenges facing the continent, as well as bilateral relations between Egypt and a number of brotherly African countries and ways of enhancing them, to achieve the aspirations of the African peoples and to maximize the use of the resources available to Africa to support stability and development in the continent.
