President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi participated on Monday, via video conference, in a meeting with a number of African presidents to discuss the African initiative to mediate the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. The meeting was attended by President Ousmane Ghazali, President of the Comoros and current chairman of the African Union; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa; Senegalese President Macky Sall; Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni; and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. Ahmed Fahmy, the official spokesman of the presidency, said that the African leaders discussed during the meeting the details of the African initiative for mediation between Russia and Ukraine. The African leaders stressed that Africa has a firm interest in working to end this conflict, given its enormous negative effects on African countries and the rest of the world in a number of vital sectors, such as food security, energy and international finance, as well as the importance of supporting stability and international peace. Earlier on Monday, President Al-Sisi stressed Egypt's keenness to strengthen cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union and participate actively in its work and activities. This is in light of its leading role as one of the United Nations specialized agencies in the field of information and communication technologies, and its global platform for governments and the private sector in this field. This came during the reception of President Al-Sisi on Monday of the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union, Dorin Bogdan Martin, in the presence of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, and Adel Darwish, the representative of the Union and the director of the regional office in the Arab countries. Fahmy said that President Al-Sisi also confirmed the state's interest to promote the ICT sector and develop its infrastructure as Egypt's gateway to the future، He expressed his aspiration to strengthen the Union's support for Egypt's efforts in this regard. For her part, the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union praised Egypt's role and its extended contributions to the work of the Union, the latest of which is hosting the current edition of the Global Forum of telecommunications regulators in Sharm El-Sheikh. It was an important international forum that enjoys wide participation; for cooperation and exchange of experiences between all concerned parties in this field. This reflects the confidence of the international community in the Egyptian ICT sector, its potential, experience and promising future. She stressed the Union's interest in deepening cooperation with Egypt in this regard, which contributes to supporting the process of digital development, especially in light of the intensive interest of the state in this sector.
