Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met Liu Xianfa, the Chinese government’s special envoy for African affairs, in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss joint co-operation between the two countries in Africa and developments across the region.
Abdelatty welcomed Liu on his first visit to Cairo and praised the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and China, according to foreign ministry spokesman Ambassador Nader Zaki. He said Egypt wanted to expand trilateral co-operation with China to carry out development projects in key sectors across Africa, and to support capacity building and training for African officials through the ministry’s agencies.
These include the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, which is organising the sixth edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development later this month.
Liu conveyed China’s appreciation for Egypt’s civilisation and history, and said he was impressed by the modernisation of the country’s infrastructure, particularly the New Administrative Capital.
Regional security and the Nile
The two discussed the situation in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, Sudan and Somalia. Abdelatty stressed the importance of supporting national state institutions and preserving the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the region’s countries, and called for the security of the Red Sea and freedom of navigation to be protected.
He also restated Egypt’s position on its water security, calling for adherence to international law and rejecting unilateral measures on the Nile.
The two sides agreed to keep co-ordinating in international forums on regional issues of shared concern.
