Egypt's Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry is travelling to Ethiopia on Thursday to attend a ministerial-level African Union meeting ahead of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's participation in the AU's 28th General Assembly by the end of this month, a ministry statement read. The General Assembly, titled ‘Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth,' kicked off in Addis Ababa on 22 January and will conclude on 31 January. "Shoukry's participation comes in the context of Egypt's ongoing efforts to communicate with its African brothers to strengthen bilateral ties with African countries," the statement read. Aside from participating in the assembly's official meetings and activities, Shoukry is expected to hold bilateral meetings on the assembly's sidelines with his African counterparts as well as AU commissioners. Egypt, which has been increasingly active with the AU in the past couple of years, currently holds a seat in the AU's Security Council. In a presidential-level AU meeting in July, President al-Sisi told his counterparts that there is no substitute for adopting a model of regional integration in Africa. Sisi also advocated for creating a free trade zone between AU countries. Source: Ahram Online
