PRESIDENT Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi arrived in the UAE on Monday for talks with his counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to discuss political and economic issues. A presidential spokesperson said the two leaders had discussed the latest developments in regional affairs and issues of common interest.
According to an informed government source, Sudan, Libya, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) are at the top of the political agenda. “In view of some recent developments, especially in the case of Sudan, President Al-Sisi found it necessary to consult with the president of the UAE in view of its role in both countries,” the spokesman said.
On the GERD, the source said that President Al-Sisi was going to review with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan the lack of success of the most recent round of meetings on the dam. These were technical talks that the UAE had hosted for delegations from Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
“The UAE has considerable investments in Ethiopia, and we remain hopeful that it could still play a possible role,” the source said.
The two leaders discussed strengthening economic cooperation between Egypt and the UAE. The source said that President Al-Sisi had presented opportunities for increased UAE investment in Egypt.
President Al-Sisi’s economic talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan are part of a bigger regional push planned ahead of the scheduled economic reforms that the government has committed to under its loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the source said.
During Al-Sisi’s two-day visit to the UAE, he congratulated the UAE on sending an Emirati astronaut, Sultan Al-Neyadi, on the longest Arab space mission to date. The two leaders met Al-Neyadi and other Emirati astronauts, the Egyptian presidency said. Al-Neyadi became the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk during his six-month mission to the International Space Station.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 21 September, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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