President El-Sisi made the comments in a speech via videoconference at the latest edition of the forum with Chinese President Xi Jinping and African leaders, presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said.

The president said economic recovery requires enhancing trade and investment cooperation in a way that serves the interests of Africa’s peoples, including the reduction of accumulated debts and helping small and medium-scale enterprises to overcome the economic crisis.

El-Sisi affirmed the importance of coordination between Africa and China on issues related to peace and security to achieve Africa Agenda 2063, saying he hopes that the Cairo-based Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development Center of the African Union would be an example for cooperation with China in promoting security and stability across the continent.

The president affirmed the necessity of completing the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to achieve economic and trade integration among African nations, pointing to the importance of China's effective partnership to implementing this matter.

The president pointed out that Egypt, during its presidency of COMESA, would seek to lure foreign investments and achieve integration between the African private sector and its counterparts in friendly countries.

El-Sisi asserted the need for learning from countries that have been successful in containing the coronavirus and using this knowledge to help the neediest countries.

In this regard, the president lauded the Egyptian-Chinese cooperation in producing coronavirus vaccines, making Egypt the first African country to manufacture them.

Moreover, the president underlined that climate change and its negative repercussions are the main challenges for Africa, renewing Egypt's pledge to work with all parties concerned with climate action to back developing countries to adapt to the climate crisis and find suitable funding for adaptation and mitigation efforts.