President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi held several bilateral meetings with a number of officials during his visit to China's Hangzhou, where the G20 Summit is being held. Among them were Chinese, Japanese and South Korean leaders, with whom Al-Sisi followed up on joint projects launched during earlier visits some months ago. Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry also headed a meeting of foreign ministers from G20 countries for the first time, the ministry said Sunday, although Egypt is a non-member state. Al-Sisi started his meetings on Sunday with Chinese president Xi Jinping. According to a presidential statement, Jinping said that Egypt has achieved positive results over the past two years in terms of enhancing Egypt's regional and international role. Jinping also praised the joint cooperation between China and Egypt on economic and security issues, stressing on the importance of developing these relations. The meeting also tackled several regional and international issues that are of mutual interest for the two countries. The Chinese market has increased its consumption of Egyptian fruits and vegetables over the past years, which will allow Egypt to expand its exports over the coming years. Al-Sisi also received Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, according to a presidential statement, Al-Sisi said that bilateral relations between Egypt and Japan have blossomed over the past few years. Al-Sisi added that he is looking forward to enhancing relations with Japan and increasing cooperation on economic and investment projects, as well as in the field of education. During the meeting, Abe praised the most recent visit of Al-Sisi to Japan in February, during which the latter gave a speech in the Japanese parliament, asserting that ties between the two countries will thrive under cultural and scientific cooperation. South Korean president Park Geun-hye received Al-Sisi on Sunday; a presidential statement said that Al-Sisi and Geun-hye discussed bilateral relations and different fields of cooperation between the two countries. Geun-Hye stressed the importance of Egypt's stability as it plays a major role in regional and international relations. Al-Sisi also confirmed Egypt's support for the stability of the Korean peninsula and its support for all efforts exerted to settle the disputes in South Korea. Al-Sisi also received the Argentinean president Mauricio Macri, Macri said that Argentina respects the decisions of Egyptian people and looks forward to more cooperation between the two countries in fields of investment, free trade, and agriculture. Al-Sisi is set to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between Egypt and Russia. Al-Sisi is participating in the G20 summit for the first time since taking office in 2014 after he received an invitation from the Chinese president. The summit is taking place from 4 to 5 September. The last G20 summit was held in Turkey in November 2015. Al-Sisi met with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde on Saturday to discuss economic reforms and the Egyptian government's efforts to sustain social justice while following new economy policies. Lagarde praised the efforts of the government to face the current economic turmoil in Egypt. The theme of the G20 this year is "towards an innovative, invigorated, interconnected, and inclusive world economy". Prior to Al-Sisi's visit to China, he signed several maritime agreements, as well as military and security cooperation agreements between the two countries. Source: Daily News Egypt
