ALEXANDRIA, Sept 8, 2018 (MENA) – Chairman of the Egyptian-Chinese Parliamentary Friendship Association Mohamed Farag Amer hailed the historic and important visit paid by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to China and his participation in the 2018 Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). "The trip paved the way for establishing a strong strategic relationship and pushing forward cooperation between Egypt, China and Africa in the different fields", he said in a statement. He noted that Sisi's speech before the FOCAC shed light on the importance of upgrading the international navigation movement as part of Cairo's endeavor to achieve integration of development initiatives, including China's Belt and Road Initiative and the African Union's Agenda 2063. President Sisi's decision to turn the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCzone) into a global logistics and economic hub could effectively contribute to enhancing the world trade, Amer noted. The president move shows that Egypt is keen on encouraging the world trade, through linking Cairo, Beijing and Africa with world countries, Amer said. Sisi's talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and other African leaders in Beijing was a strong evidence of the high status that Egypt enjoys at the regional and international levels, Amer said.