Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum at his temporary residence in Beijing, China on Thursday.

El-Sisi flew to the Chinese capital for a three-day Belt and Road summit of heads of state on the flagship infrastructure plan which china launched in 2013.

The two Arab leaders discussed ways of boosting cooperation between their countries as well as key developments in the region, an Egyptian presidency spokesman said in a statement.

During the talks, Al-Maktoum said his country is keen to bolster cooperation with Egypt in order to consolidate peace and stability in the region, the statement quoted him as saying.

UAE is one of El-Sisi’s closest allies in the region.

El-sisi is planned to hold a series of bilateral talks with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the summit.