Comoros' president hails Egypt’s role to enhance African joint work

CAIRO – 12 December 2019: President of Comoros Azali Assoumani on Thursday has praised the efforts exerted by Egypt to push forward the joint African work, especially concerning the activation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.

Meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the sidelines of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development held in Egypt for the first time, Assoumani said that the AfCFTA would contribute to meeting the aspirations of the African peoples toward progress and prosperity, and would help improve investment and two-way trade.

Assoumani has expressed his country’s appreciation for Egypt for its leading role in the African continent, and affirmed keenness to enhance bilateral relations between the two African countries in various fields.

President Sisi, for his part, hailed the historic relations between Egypt and Comoros at the African and Arab levels, as well as the special ties between the peoples of the two states, in light of the large number of students coming from Comoros to study in Egypt.

Sisi stressed willingness to work on boosting trade exchange between Egypt and Comoros.

Sisi has earlier met with many African leaders during the Aswan Forum, including Senegal’s President Macky Sall, Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou, and President Idriss Déby of Chad.

Sisi has focused on the issue of facing terrorism in the Sahel region while holding talks with the African presidents. He highlighted Egypt’s war against terrorism including the fight in Sinai as well as along the western borders with Libya, and affirmed the need to reach a “peaceful” political solution to the Libyan crisis.

Sisi also affirmed the need for the African nations to respond collectively against terrorism.

The Egyptian president opened Wednesday the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa, the first to be held in the Upper Egyptian city of Aswan, the capital of African youth.

A number of African heads of state and government, as well as officials, are taking part in the event meant to open new channels toward achieving peace and sustainable development in the continent.

The two-day forum comes upon an initiative by Sisi after assuming the chairmanship of the African Union.