Sisi asserts Egypt's keenness to enhance cooperation with China

CAIRO – 2 September 2018: On the second day of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s visit to China, he visited the CPC Academy which is one of the most important educational institutions in China responsible for training officials and leaders and qualifying them for senior positions.

According to a statement issued Sunday by presidency spokesperson Bassam Rady, the president started his visit by inspecting the museum of the academy, which dates back to 1933.

For his side, Sisi expressed his happiness with his visit to the academy, stressing his admiration for the important role the academy plays in training the Chinese political elite and government cadres and enhancing their global vision and strategic thinking.

Sisi gave a speech before a group of the academy's leaders, students, and leaders of the Chinese Communist Party; he praised the Chinese government and people for the progress they achieved in the development process.


Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) meets China's Premier Li Keqiang at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on September 2, 2018. / AFP / POOL / Lintao Zhang

"My fifth visit to China is a reflection of the development of the distinguished relations between the two countries as well as between China and Africa, especially in the next phase, where Egypt holds the presidency of the African Union for 2019,” Sisi said.

Also, the president held an open dialogue with the students of the academy and answered their questions about the Egyptian-Chinese relations and the future of the situation in Egypt and the Arab region.

The president also reviewed the economic reforms and major projects during the recent period in order to provide the necessary resources to attract foreign investment. Sisi confirmed Egypt’s keenness to cooperate with China in various fields.

For the political situation in the Arab region, Sisi said that free elections must be held in Libya to overcome the crisis and protect the country's stability, stressing the importance of reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis that begins by rewriting the Syrian constitution to rebuild the political system and the national state, and to meet the legitimate aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people.

“Above all, there is no way to end the oldest conflicts in the region except by giving the Palestinian people their right to an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Sisi asserted.

President Sisi arrived on September 1 in Beijing to participate in the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) slated for Sept. 3-4, and a bilateral summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.