Sisi voices Egypt’s keenness on more cooperation with Zambia

CAIRO - May 24 2019: In a phone call with his Zambian counterpart Edgar Lungu on Thursday, President Abdel Fatah El Sisi affirmed Egypt's keenness on more cooperation with Zambia in all fields, said Egypt’s Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi in a statement on Thursday.

President Sisi said that he is looking forward to continuing coordination with President Lungu regarding the issues of security and stability of the African continent, Radi said, adding that Zambian President praised Egypt’s role in Africa in light of its chairmanship of the African Union (AU) in 2019.

It was reported by Egypt’s state-owned Al Ahram newspaper that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi would embark on an African tour on Thursday to four African countries, namely Zambia, South Africa, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, his trip was to Zambia was cancelled due to “a compelling domestic agenda,” Tanzania’s State House Spokesman Amos Chanda was reported by Lusaka Times on Friday.

It is expected that President Sisi will attend the inauguration ceremony of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa due to be held on Friday at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, as it was announced by South African Minister of Presidency Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma last week.