Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in his meeting with Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday. Photo: Egyptian Presidency
The meeting between El-Sisi and Xi was held in Riyadh ahead of the first China-Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian president arrived in Saudi Arabia earlier Thursday to participate in the first China-Arab Summit.
During the meeting, both leaders discussed integration between China’s Belt and Road initiative and various development projects in Egypt, including projects in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and other infrastructure projects in roads and ports as well as energy sector, according to a statement released by the Egyptian Presidency.
The Egyptian president expressed his aspiration to boost Chinese tourism to Egypt as well as to encourage Chinese companies to boost their investments in the country, especially in the fields of localising industrialisation and the transfer of high technology.
El-Sisi and Xi also exchanged views concerning various developments and challenges facing the Middle East.
For his part, the Chinese President expressed his appreciation for the leading Egyptian role in preserving peace, security and stability in the region through its counter-terrorism and counter-radicalism efforts, as well as fostering political settlements for the different crises in the region.
The Chinese president also congratulated his Egyptian counterpart on the successful organisation of the COP27.
He added that China always seeks to elevate its partnership with Egypt in all fields, according to the statement.
For his part, President El-Sisi congratulated the Chinese president for his recent re-election as secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party for the third time.
Egyptian-Chinese ties have witnessed noticeable growth in the past several years in the domains of infrastructure, energy, trade and others.
El Sisi visited China seven times during 2014-2022 to promote comprehensive strategic partnership and Chinese investments in Egypt.
China has recently lauded the economic and structural reforms in the country in addition to the developmental accomplishments achieved in Egypt, including major national projects that contributed to increasing the rates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and exports.
China also lauded the country's efforts to boost the investment environment, shrink unemployment rates, raise its credit classification and foster trust of the international financial institution in the ability of the Egyptian economy to continue growth and face internal and external challenges.
China has asserted its keenness to contribute to major national projects in Egypt and benefit from the unique geographic position of Egypt, especially the Suez Canal, to push forward the Belt and Road Initiative and boost trade between its contributing countries.
According to a report released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Thursday on the eve of the China-Arab Summit, Egypt's exports to China registered $1.5 billion in the first nine months of 2022, compared to $1.1 billion in the same period of 2021, marking an increase of 36.7 percent.
CAPMAS stated that Egypt's imports from China hit $11.1 billion from January to September 2022, against $10.7 billion in the corresponding period of 2021, recording an increase of 3.8 percent.
The agency stated that trade exchange between Egypt and China hit $12.7 billion from January to September 2022, versus $11.9 billion in the same period of 2021, recording an increase of 9.8 percent
It explained that China's total investments in Egypt hit $563.4 million in the fiscal year (FY) 2021/2022, compared to $485.2 million in the fiscal year (FY) 2020/2021, marking an increase of 16.1 percent.
CAPMAS also pointed out that the total remittances of Egyptians working in China stood at $12.7 million in FY 2020/2021, against $12.8 million in FY 2019/2020.
Cooperation fields between Egypt and China include electricity, petroleum, natural gas, railways, highways, ports, mineral industries, construction materials, chemical industries, lighting equipment, textile and home appliances.
According to an earlier statement by the Egyptian Presidency, El-Sisi’s participation in the China-Arab Summit reflects Egypt's keenness to strengthen and develop the distinguished historical relations between Arab countries and China.
El-Sisi's participation also aims to strengthen joint action mechanisms to achieve common interests, the presidency added.
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