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US-Africa Summit gives impetus to US relations with African countries: Egypt's Presidential Spokesperson President Al-Sisi met with republican leaders, US Secretary of Defence
In his speech on Thursday at the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will stress the framework of the Egyptian strategy presented during Egypt's presidency of the African Union (AU). In a statement released on Wednesday, Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady said that Al-Sisi's speech will emphasise the importance of supporting the integration of Africa into the global economy and its positive results to benefit from the global economy, attracting investments, transferring modern technology, settling industries, and confronting climate change issues. The speech will also reflect the president's vision to deal with African issues and the efforts made by Egypt in the past years in this regard, particularly the need to increase the volume of intra-African trade and to build bridges for transportation, roads, land, sea, and air routes between African countries to enhance the volume of exchange of goods and the utilisation of raw materials and resources on the continent. On Wednesday, Al-Sisi participated in a working breakfast with several Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives, all of which stressed that Egypt is a major ally of the US in MENA. Al-Sisi participated on Wednesday, at his residence in Washington, in a working breakfast with several Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives. For his part, The Egyptian president emphasised the importance and strength of Egyptian-American relations, expressing Egypt's appreciation for the role played by the US House of Representatives in boosting the partnership between the two countries. He also stressed his keenness to communicate with the various decision-making circles in the US within the framework of coordination and consultation between the two friendly countries on various issues. Additionally, the congressmen expressed their appreciation for Egypt's pivotal role as a pillar of security and stability in the Middle East, the Mediterranean Basin, and Africa, in addition to its successful efforts in confronting the threat of terrorism and extremist ideology, establishing concepts of religious tolerance, and balanced and wise endeavours, to find solutions to the various crises the region is going through. The spokesperson added that the meeting witnessed a mutual dialogue between the president and Republican leaders to discuss the overall situation in the Middle East, as well as international issues of common concern. The two sides also tackled the development of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), with Al-Sisi affirming Egypt's firm position, which aims to preserve its water security by concluding a binding legal agreement regarding the rules for filling and operating the dam to ensure the natural, historical flow of the Nile's waters. He added that this must take into account Egypt's total dependence on the Nile River as a primary source of water. In response, the congressmen expressed their full understanding of Egypt's concerns and its position on this sensitive issue in Egypt's national security. Furthermore, Rady stressed the importance of the second edition of the US-Africa Leaders Summit, which is being held in Washington and was first held in 2014 in Morocco. He noted that the summit reflects the growing global interest in Africa, especially on the US' side, which is seeking to increase its presence in the continent. Furthermore, the summit will focus on helping African countries face the repercussions of the global economic crisis, particularly in terms of food, energy prices, ways to adapt to climate change and help African countries move towards new and renewable energy. Rady added that holding the summit coincides with the US strategy towards sub-Saharan Africa, which was announced last August. He said that the summit will also deal with development and security issues, ways to confront the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian War, and the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, stressing that the summit adds momentum to the US' relations with the countries of the continent.
