Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi delivered a speech before the opening session of the fourth Arab-African Summit, which kicked-off in Equatorial Guinea's capital Malabo on Wednesday, where he said that countries need to combine efforts to face several international crises. The president highlighted the refugee crisis, irregular migration, the increased activity of organised crime groups, cross-border drug smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism as the clearest evidence for the need of joint international action. El-Sisi stressed that Egypt puts the achieving of peace, security and stability in the African and Arab world at the top of its foreign policy priorities, pointing to the historical relations between the Arab region and Africa. Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef stated that “Egypt's participation in the summit came in light of its responsibility as an Arab and African state that organised the first Arab-African summit in 1977.” The Egyptian president praised all Arab and African states that contributed to the success of the summit.
