Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrived in China on Sunday to participate in the BRICS summit, state-run news agency MENA reported. El-Sisi is expected to meet with a number of large Chinese companies investing in Egypt, as well as holding bilateral meetings with Chinese, Russian and Indian counterparts, while he is attending the three-day summit. El-Sisi's participation comes upon the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. El-Sisi is also set to deliver a speech at the summit on Monday, to present Egyptian economic policies and efforts to attract foreign investment, and expansion in external cooperation. The speech will also highlight suggested models to consolidate global governance, and joint efforts for cooperation between Egypt and the other participating countries. Egypt's ambassador to China, Osama El-Magdoub, said earlier on Sunday that many joint projects between the two countries, in different fields, will be announced soon. Speaking on the first day of the 2017 BRICS summit in Xiamen, El-Magdoub told Egyptian private news channel Extra News that relations between Cairo and Beijing are witnessing strong growth, and that the Chinese are interested in investing in Egypt. The Egyptian ambassador mentioned coming Chinese investments would be in the new administrative capital worth $3.2 billion and would include other investments by two Chinese companies worth $8 billion. The summit, which includes the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will be held from 3 to 5 September. The theme of the ninth annual summit is “Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future.” According to El-Magdoub, China supports Egypt's recent programme of economic reforms. He said the summit would focus on economic issues, and will address the means of cooperation to overcome the problems of the global economy, especially the structural sides. Egypt is focusing on several major issues during the meetings at Xiamen, such as activating cooperation between the countries of the global south, especially among BRICS countries and emerging economies such as Egypt. The suggested cooperation is in the fields of investment and infrastructure. Egypt is also addressing the means to achieve the UN 2030 development plan goals, as well as consolidating the cooperation between Egypt, as a representative of Arab countries, in relation to China's One Belt, One Road initiative. The initiative aims at reviving the ancient trade routes between China and the Mediterranean countries through Asia and Europe.
