US-African summit reflects world’s growing interest towards Africa: Egyptian Presidential Spox

CAIRO – 16 December 2022: The second US-African summit of leaders in Washington reflects the growing international interest towards the African continent, said Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Rady in media remarks on Friday.

In a statement to the "Nile" news channel, on the sidelines of the US-African summit in Washington, the presidential spokesman said that the African continent has very large potentials at the level of resources, raw materials and human energy. However, he added that the African continent lacks continental infrastructure, especially the transportation network.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi called for adopting development mechanisms to reduce the debt burden in a way that eases this burden for the African nations through writing off or swapping external debts, or easy repayment.

He added, in his speech at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Closing Session on Promoting Food Security and Food Systems Resilience on Thursday evening, that the second pillar of Egypt’s vision is to intensify agricultural investments directed to Africa to develop productive and storage capacities through using modern technology on favorable terms.

The Egyptian President called upon major countries to support African countries to maximize their benefits by investing in infrastructure and agricultural projects, in a way that enhances the integration among the countries through the African Free Trade Agreement.

The President also participated in the dinner banquet held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Washington, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Egypt and the United States, said Egyptian Presidency Spokesperson Bassam Rady in a statement on Friday.

The dinner witnessed an open dialogue with representatives of the American business sector who expressed their interest in working in Egypt or expanding their existing projects, Rady said.

He added that President Sisi affirmed Egypt’s keenness to discuss ways of overcoming all economic obstacles, expressing his appreciation for the role played by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Egyptian-American Business Council in supporting economic and trade relations between Egypt and the United States.

The attendees praised the economic reform efforts in Egypt, like the measures taken to improve the investment environment and encourage, and major national projects, which contributed to Egypt being a model and success story to be followed at the international level, Rady said.