Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi participated on Monday via video conference in the Non-Aligned Movement summit titled "United against the novel coronavirus pandemic," Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said.

Rady stated the summit aimed to create dialogue and coordination between the movement's member states to tackle the multifaceted repercussions of the coronavirus crisis.

In his speech at the summit, President El-Sisi stressed the importance of international cooperation and solidarity for an effective and urgent response to the crisis, especially in making the necessary medical and preventive supplies available, Rady stated.

El-Sisi also emphasised the importance of intensifying scientific research efforts in order to find a vaccine for the coronavirus.

The president called for supporting developing countries in their fight against the virus and offering them economic incentives to reduce the impact of the crisis on world food security.

Several leaders of the movement's member states participated in the summit headed by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, the current chairman of the movement.

Secretary-General of the UN António Guterres also participated in the summit, as well as Director-General of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom and Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki.

The Non-Aligned Movement was founded in 1961 in the former Yugoslavia. The movement comprises 120 member states, and it's currently headquartered in Central Jakarta, Indonesia.

The movement was created through an initiative by the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito. It consisted of nations that were not aligned with either the eastern or western bloc during the cold war.