Sisi, African leaders talk AU reform, free trade deal in Ethiopia

CAIRO - 27 January 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi arrived in Addis Ababa on Saturday to hold a series of bilateral meetings with African leaders on the sidelines of the 30th Summit of the African Union (AU), where the reform of AU’s construction and reaching an African free trade deal will be the core of the talks with 55 African counterparts.

This year's summit comes under the title “Winning the fight against corruption: a sustainable approach to Africa's transformation”.



President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi greets an Ethiopian little girl on Saturday, January 27, 2018, as he arrived in Addis Ababa to attend the 30th African Union - Press photo


The president will participate in a closed session aiming at the institutional reform of the African Union.

President Sisi will head the meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the AU as Egypt is currently chairing the council, according to a statement of the president's spokesperson Bassam Radi released Friday.

Political science professor at Cairo University, Dr. Tareq Fahmy, told Egypt Today that there were lots of important goals of this visit, including emphasizing the importance of diplomacy to resolve crises, and rebuilding good relations between Egypt and the rest of African nations.

According to Dr. Fahmy, the visit was beneficial, as it would add emphasis to the agricultural expenditure between Egypt and Nile Basin countries.

Sisi stressed that Egypt is keen on improving and consolidating good relations with other African nations. In 2017, he visited four African countries, Tanzania, Rwanda, Gabon and Chad, to resolute the issue of water security for the Nile Basin countries.

"The president's participation in the African Summit comes in the light of Egypt's keenness to strengthen and develop relations with all African countries and to effectively participate in efforts to strengthen the mechanisms of joint African action for African peoples,“ Radi said in Friday statement.