Africa Day marks the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963, with Egypt a founding member. The OAU later evolved on 9 July 2002 into the African Union (AU), which is made up of 55 member states that represent all the countries on the continent.

“I congratulate all the brotherly African peoples on the occasion of Africa Day,” El-Sisi wrote on his official Facebook account.

The Egyptian president described the occasion as “a great historical moment that established a new era in strengthening unity and cooperation between the countries of our continent."

"Egypt will continue working side by side with its sister African countries to achieve sustainable development and boost joint efforts to find solutions to problems and conflicts that the continent has suffered from for decades and have prevented the realisation of the dreams of its people," El-Sisi said.

“Today we are taking firm steps… towards creating a stable continent that guarantees a decent life for its people and instills a culture of civility, tolerance, and love for the whole world,” El-Sisi said.

In closing, the Egyptian president wished the peoples of Africa "progress, stability, and prosperity” on this day.

Egypt invests in cooperation with Africa

In recent years, the Egyptian government has placed a priority on cooperation with its African sisters on the political, economic and social levels. 

In November 2021, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) stated that the total value of Egyptian exports to the AU hit $3.9 billion during the first nine months of 2021, compared to only $2.8 billion during the same period last year.

CAPMAS further noted that Egypt’s exports to AU countries in general witnessed a 37.8 percentage hike during the same period.

In the same month, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that Egypt is aiming to boost trade exchange with African countries, stressing that regional cooperation between trade blocs is a crucial mechanism for achieving development. 

Egypt is a signatory to several trade agreements among African countries, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) — an agreement that was adopted and opened for signature in March 2018 in Kigali before going into force in January 2021 after months of delays owing to the pandemic.

The AfCFTA aims to accelerating intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening its common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

Furthermore, the AfCFTA will be the largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), given Africa’s current population of 1.2 billion people, which is expected to grow to 2.5 billion by 2050.

Meanwhile, Egypt has vowed to speak for African concerns at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27), which will be held in Sharm El-sheikh in November.

Moreover, Egypt has recently invested in a number of healthcare and development projects in a number of African nations.