Former FM: Egypt's active diplomacy capable of successfully leading Africa

MARSA ALAM - 1 February 2018: Egypt, the elected chair of the African Union for 2019, will be able through its active and successful diplomacy to overcome the challenges facing Africa and express its worries at all international forums, a seasoned diplomat told MENA.

Mohamed el Orabi, former foreign minister and member of the House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee praised the diplomatic role of the Egyptian presidency at the international, African and Arab levels and its treatment of contentious files and challenges.

The presidential diplomacy is always successful and has proven its capability of dealing with many files at the same intensity, simultaneously and in various directions, he said.

Orabi is in Marsa Alam in the Red Sea Governorate to prepare for the "Egypt on the Road of Development" conference organized by the Arab-African Center for Strategic and Parliamentary Studies.

The conference, to open later Thursday, promotes state efforts in South Sinai for small and medium-sized enterprises in the mining field.

He said Egypt, through its non-permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council from 2016-17, did not only successfully administer the files of the region at all international forums, but has also turned the attention of the council to the Arab and African troubles and worries and to the defense of issues of international peace and security.

Egypt will face increasing regional challenges in the coming phase, "we have not reached a solution to the Libyan issue and the situation in Syria, Yemen and the Red Sea remains complex. These challenges require action at the international, African and Arab levels," he said.

Egypt was elected on Sunday as chair of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term in 2019 during a closed meeting on AU institutional reform before the opening session of the 30th Africa Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa.