New agreement to develop Sokhna Port sees China cooperation

CAIRO -12 May 2017: The Suez Canal Authority Chairman Mohab Mamish agreed to sign a framework agreement for joint cooperation with a Chinese alliance to develop the Sokhna Port, he announced in a statement on Friday.

The alliance, which will cooperate with the Suez Canal Economic Zone, includes the China-Africa Development Fund, the Chinese Development Bank and the Port of Qingdao.

A delegation of the Suez Economic Zone will participate in the international conference about the Silk Road, which is due to be held in Beijing, China on May 14-15.

Mamish also said that the agreement comes within the framework of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s decision for Egypt to officially join the Silk Road Economic Belt trade union. He also commented that it would add to the bilateral efforts of both political leaderships to cooperate on different levels, namely trade, transport and infrastructure.

The Silk Road Economic Belt, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes, according to Xinhua.