President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi arrived in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday to participate in the 23rd African Union Summit, which he is scheduled to address on Thursday. Al-Sisi met with the President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of South Sudan Salva Kiir and President of Gambia Yahya Jammeh upon his arrival, according to state-run MENA. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has been in the Equatorial Guinean capital Malabo since Monday, participating in a meeting of AU foreign ministers and several meetings on the side of the summit. Shoukry participated in the 31st meeting of the Committee of State and Governments of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) bloc, of which Egypt is a founding member. In his address to the committee Shoukry stressed Egypt's support for the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which aims to "achieve food security in the African continent and the development of the agricultural sector and to achieve a surplus for export of agricultural products", according to a Wednesday foreign ministry statement. The minister discussed further development cooperation with the Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs. Shoukry stressed "the importance of China's participation in development programmes and economic reform projects and major investment in Egypt" adding that Egypt can learn from China's experience in this area "including the implementation of joint projects in the African continent", said the foreign ministry. The ministers also discussed bilateral relations and Shoukry said Egypt is "looking forward to closer ties with China" with an emphasis on economic links and "counter-terrorism". Egypt's participation in the AU summit represents its first activity in the AU since the Peace and Security Council (PSC) lifted its suspension, which was in place since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi last July. The council deemed the change of government as "unconstitutional" and in violation of the union's charter.
