NEW YORK, Sept 24, 2018 - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has reiterated Egypt's support for the United Nations role in global peace-making and peace-keeping and the promotion of the values of tolerance and respect for and understanding of the other. In an address to the Nelson Mandela Summit at the UN headquarters on Monday, the Egyptian leader paid tribute to the legacy of the global icon of peace, freedom and equality. He also hailed the summit as an opportunity to firmly establish the values of world peace in all its forms and doubling the efforts to realise peace and sustainable developments side by side with deepening the principles of human rights. The Mandela Summit was the first high-level gathering of world leaders to reflect on the state of world peace and security within the framework of the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) 73rd session. As many as 133 world leaders are reportedly joining in the high-level part of the session — a larger turnout than last year's 114. The summit was called to honour the centenary of the birth of the world-famous African icon of the struggle against discrimination and for peace and equality. In his address to the summit, President Sisi called for effective international frameworks to deal with the root causes of conflicts, promoting governance and respect for all human rights in all their dimensions. He also called for the intensification of international action to eradicate poverty and epidemics, optimising youth energies and consolidating woman empowerment, therefore contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. "We all are duty-bound to act in solidarity and true co-operation in order to defeat terrorism and fight extremism, racism, discrimination and fanaticism," the Egyptian leader told the gathering of the of the heads of state and government and senior representatives of the 193 member-states of the international organisation. The address to the Nelson Mandela Summit was one of the highlights of the Egyptian leader's engagements in the third day of his visit to New York to take part in the work of the UNGA. His engagements on the sidelines of the big UN event on Monday included landmark meetings with the chiefs of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as well as talks with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, European Council President Donald Tusk, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed. President Sisi's meeting with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim was devoted to a consideration of ways to develop co-operation between Egypt and the WB in various fields and the scene of economic reforms in Egypt. Special reference was made in this connection to the progress of the giant developmental projects that the Egyptian government have recently launched to push forward the process of economic revival while paying due attention to the social dimension of development, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said. President Sisi highlighted the great importance that Egypt attaches to the development of relations with the World Bank as one of the country's key partners in development, Spokesman Radi said, adding that the president noted that the WB was in the forefront of the international financing institutions to co-operate with Egypt in the implementation of the economic reform programme. Discussions between the Egyptian leader and WB President Kim included a review of ongoing co-operation projects between the Bank and Egypt in the fields of health and education, especially with regard to technical education and vocational training, Spokesman Radi said. For his part, WB President Kim emphasised that the international institution would continue to support Egypt's economic reforms especially in the light of the country's success in pursuing comprehensive economic and social reforms, the spokesman said. Such Egyptian efforts, Mr Kim noted during the meeting, have produced real and positive results at the level of raising growth rates, reducing budget deficit, achieving economic stability and improving the business and investment climate. During his meeting with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, President Sisi asserted the continuation of carrying out the economic reform programme, praising the Egyptian people's understanding of the economic measures out of their belief in the necessity of effectively addressing economic woes in a decisive way that aims at realising real development. Attending the meeting were Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri, Minister of Investment and International Co-operation Sahar Nasr and Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar, During the meeting, the president expressed appreciation for the constructive co-operation between the government and the IMF within the framework of implementing the economic reform programme, stressing Egypt's keenness on maintaining co-operation with the international fund, Spokesman Radi said. President Sisi also stressed Egypt's dedication to the creation of an attractive business climate as well as encouraging more foreign investments with a view to raising growth rates and reducing unemployment and public debts. In this regard, the president outlined the administrative and legislative measures that have been adopted to incentivise and provide a supporting climate for investments, the spokesman said. For her part, Ms Lagarde praised the Egyptian government's ongoing progress in accomplishing its economic reform programme, stressing that results achieved show that the reform process is making remarkable progress. Also on Monday, President Sisi met Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During the meeting, the President highlighted the distinguished relations and strategic partnership that bind Egypt and the UAE, asserting Egypt's keenness on maintaining these ties in various fields. The Emirati foreign minister expressed his country's keenness on continuing intensive coordination and consultation with Egypt to confront challenges and risks facing the region, including in the foremost terrorism, Spokesman Radi said. The UAE top diplomat also highlighted the importance of Arab solidarity and unity in the face of attempts to threaten the security and stability of Arab peoples. During a meeting with both European Union Council President Donald Tusk and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Monday, President Sisi asserted Egypt's keenness on enhancing various aspects of co-operation with the European Union in the light of their multiple and strong links in addition to common interests in confronting challenges facing the Mediterranean, Spokesman Radi said in a statement. For their part, the EU Council president and the Austrian chancellor, whose country is the current chair of the EU, expressed interest in maintaining intensive coordination and consultation with Egypt over all issues of mutual concern in addition to enhancing and pushing forward co-operation with Egypt at all levels. The meeting also included discussions on the results of the unofficial summit of the EU heads of state and government which was held in Austria on September 19-20. The European officials lauded Egypt's efforts in the field of combatting illegal migration, asserting the appreciation of the European Union of these efforts.
