Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab departed Sunday morning for Washington DC, to lead his country's delegation to the four-day US-Africa Leaders Summit. The summit is due to be held from August 4-6. The delegation will include Egyptian ministers of trade and industry, finance and investment. The summit titled "Investment in the next generation" will be an opportunity to discuss ways of encouraging development, increasing job opportunities and creating a healthy environment for the next generation. NGOs forums will be held on the sidelines of the summit. The summit will also tackle a number of issues like Africa's integration in the international economy via enhancing African countries' capabilities, encouraging investment in Africa, empowering youth and establishing peace and security in the black continent. In addition, the summit, which is designed to work as a counterweight to China's decade-long surge in investment and trade with Africa, will bring together some 50 heads of states and governments for talks. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has turned down a US invitation to partake in a gathering of US and African leaders in Washington next week. Apart from Egypt's Sisi, notable absentees include Morocco's King Mohammed VI. Only four presidents are excluded from the gathering, including Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Sudan's Omar al-Bashir, Eritrea's Issaias Afeworki and the Central African Republic's transitional leader Catherine Samba Panza.
