FM Shoukry delivered the President’s greetings to the presidents and officials participating in the meeting via video conference, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Shoukry expressed Egypt’s interest in following-up on progress achieved since the first meeting of the coordination summit that was headed by President El-Sisi in 2019, adding that that summit launched a new path for regional and continental coordination to achieve the development agenda goals in Africa.

The Egyptian foreign minister said that despite the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it has allowed African countries to boost their cooperation, adding that Egypt has supported the African Center of Disease Control and AU's COVID-19 Response Fund in addition to its continuing support to the African countries during the pandemic

Sameh Shoukry also underscored the vital role of the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD) in allocating the needed resources to invest in the continent's integration agenda, which is not separate from regional integration as the continental development of infrastructure is the cornerstone of integration and free trade area Africa.

El-Sisi could not address the regional meeting in person as he spent Saturday inaugurating new housing projects for residents of 22 unsafe areas as part of the government's ongoing efforts to relocate residents of slums to new housing.