President in Cairo after fruitful Asian tour

CAIRO – 6 September 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi arrived in Cairo Wednesday evening after an international tour that lasted for about 6 days, encompassing the three Asian countries of Bahrain, China and Uzbekistan, respectively.

His three-nation visit focused on strengthening bilateral ties between Egypt and each of the three countries, enhancing mutual cooperation, and inking economic deals.

Bahrain

In his first stop, Bahrain, Sisi and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al- Khalifa announced mutual keenness to continue cooperation to unite Arab states and strengthen their solidarity for the good of the Arab people and against attempts to destabilize Arab nations.

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- Egypt and Bahrain are two of four countries suspending diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations including funding terrorism and intervening in the Arab countries’ domestic affairs.

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During the visit, Sisi visited the National Museum of Bahrain, the oldest museum in the Arabian Gulf region. It includes a rare archaeological collection discovered in many archaeological sites in Bahrain. The museum is the culmination of the kingdom's efforts to preserve the heritage and history of the country.



The president also attended a concert held at the Bahrain National Theater, where he expressed the distinctiveness of Bahrain's civilization and culture.

Chairman of Bahrain's Shura Council Ali bin Saleh al-Saleh hailed the strong relations binding Bahrain and Egypt, lauding exchanged visits between King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and President Sisi.

He commended bilateral relations which are based on cooperation and amity, describing joint ties as a model for pan-Arab relationships through coordinating stances regarding Arab, regional and international issues, the Bahraini news agency (BNA) reported Friday.

Saleh also praised Egypt’s honorable stances and unwavering support to Bahrain, backing the measures Egypt has taken to maintain its security and stability and stave off regional challenges and threats.

Furthermore, Saleh lauded Cairo’s pioneering and pivotal role and strenuous efforts to unite the Arab nations and defend their causes, taking pride in deep-rooted relations between Manama and Cairo.

China

In a visit described by China’s official Xinhua news agency as “historic,” President Sisi and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping witnessed, on the first day of the visit, the inking of five cooperation deals in various fields between both countries in Beijing.

On the next day, Egypt and China signed deals worth $18.3 billion to carry out different Chinese development projects in the North African country.



Sisi witnessed the signing ceremony with major heads of Chinese companies operating in Egypt, presidential spokesperson Bassam Radi said.

The deals included the construction of a power plant using clean coal technology with capacities of up to 6,000 megawatts in Al-Hamrawain on the Red Sea coast, constructing the second phase of the central work in the New Administrative Capital, as well as constructing the project of pumping station and storage at Mount Ataka, the Shaundong Rui Textile Group Area Project, and other development projects at Suez Canal Axis.

On the same day, Sisi held several meetings with African leaders of Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia on the sidelines of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

In his meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, President Sisi discussed the bilateral relations and the under-construction Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), said presidential spokesperson Radi in a statement on Sunday.

“The two sides emphasized their desire to reach an agreement on the dam, with guarantees of preserving Egypt's water rights in the Nile River and Ethiopia’s rights to achieve development,” Radi said.

Both sides tackled the ways of enhancing bilateral trade and economic reactions, he added.

Uzbekistan

During Sisi’s visit to Uzbekistan, which lasted for only one day, Sisi and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Miromonovich discussed ways to strengthen and develop bilateral relations between the two countries in various realms.



The two presidents reached an agreement on forming a joint working team for cooperation in fighting terrorism and extremism along with organized crime within the framework of Islam’s instructions, said Egyptian presidential spokesman Ambassador Radi. Egypt and Uzbekistan’s populations are predominantly Muslims.

Sisi and Miromonovich discussed the economic reform experiences in the two countries and the major national projects implemented by Egypt recently. They also discussed cooperation in the domains of energy and auto manufacturing along with tourism and culture.

The two sides also attended the signing ceremony of several cooperation agreements. The agreements seek boosting joint cooperation between the foreign ministries of both countries along with enhancing relations in the domains of investments, sports, agriculture, justice, tourism and culture, the statement reported.

Moreover, a report by the Uzbek Embassy in Cairo stated that Sisi’s visit to Uzbekistan helps push up Egyptian-Uzbek relations.