By: Ashraf Sadek CAIRO, March 3, 2018 - A senior African Union (AU) official on Saturday has praised the serious steps that were taken by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi for improving the socio-economic conditions in Egypt over the past four years. Following his meeting with President Sisi, Mr Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, the former Nigerian foreign minister and a senior member of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), said that Egypt, which enjoys strong ties with Africa, had been taking commendable steps towards achieving socio-economic development since 2014. Mr Gambari said that the APRM welcomed President Sisi's efforts to improve the quality of services that were being offered to Egyptians as well as the keenness of the Cairo government to involve the youth in the decision-making process. Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said that President Sisi praised the activities of the APRM, which works with African governments and civil society groups to review country performance in areas like democracy and good governance, socio-economic development, corporate governance, corruption, human rights, particularly women's and children's rights, conflicts and judicial independence. President Sisi highlighted importance of consolidating the mechanisms for coordination and consultation in support of joint African action. He also reiterated the keenness of Egypt to promote relations with African countries in all fields in pursuance of Egypt's policy of consolidating relations with the continent's countries. President Sisi also reasserted Egypt's attitude of openness to all Africa in all fields. Such an Egyptian attitude, President Sisi went on, was conducive to contributing to the realisation of the hopes and aspirations of African peoples for life and development, Ambassador Radi said. Egypt, the President also reiterated, wants to enhance relations with all African countries in such a way that can help the continent deal with present challenges and meet its developmental requirements. In this connection, Mr Gambari paid tribute to Egypt's role at both African and international levels and expressed appreciation for Egypt's continuing support of African countries in such a manner that reflected Egypt's historical weight in the continent. Mr Gambari also asserted APRM's full appreciation of the efforts made by Egypt on the African arena for the sake of enhancing African solidarity and concord, Ambassador Radi said. Later on, President Sisi met with Mr Guo Ping, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the China-based Huawei Company for Telecommunications and Information Technologies, who is on an official visit to Cairo. During the meeting, President Sisi and Mr Ping reviewed the activities of the company in Egypt as well as the volume of its investments here. Mr Ping said that Huawei was looking forward to widening the scope of its activities in Egypt, which he said was witnessing a better investment environment and a high economic growth. President Sisi highlighted to Mr Ping some of the giant projects that were being implemented in Egypt, referring in particular to the building of new smart cities nationwide. He said that the government had launched a comprehensive plan for developing the IT sector, which plays a key role in the national development process, Ambassador Radi said. President Sisi also said that the company – through its investments and training programmes – could play a role in realising a qualitative push forward in the field of communications and information technology in (CIT) Egypt. The government is building technological zones nationwide to create jobs and attract foreign capital owners to launch joint ventures here, he told Mr Ping. President Sisi called on the company's top officials to offer more training programmes in cyber-technology and cyber-education to prepare the youth for eventual careers in the high-tech industry, Ambassador Radi added. Noting that he has been closely following up the activities of the CIT sector, Mr Ping expressed appreciation for achievements made and initiatives taken by President Sisi to develop this sector. He said that these initiatives had helped the company widen its activities in the Egyptian market during the past few years.
