CAIRO – Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said that Egypt looks forward to closer co-operation with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) secretariat in the next period to achieve the desired goals during Cairo’s presidency of the bloc.
The president added that Egypt also seeks to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in a way that serves the interests of COMESA member states and meets the aspirations of their peoples, especially in light of the great challenges facing the African continent, topped by the manifold fallout from the coronavirus pandemic on African countries.
Sisi made the remarks during his meeting on Tuesday with COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe on the sidelines of the bloc’s summit in the New Administrative Capital, said Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady.
The president promised that Egypt would exert all efforts during its chairmanship of the COMESA to address various topics on the organization’s agenda, with a focus on the objective of achieving regional economic integration, the spokesman added.
On her part, the COMESA secretary general said that Egypt’s presidency of the bloc would contribute to implementing the African Union’s 2063 Agenda, especially in light of President Sisi’s deep insight in dealing with the issues of the African continent.
Kapwepwe emphasized the COMESA’s support of the Egyptian president in leading the organization to bring about economic integration among African states, upgrade infrastructure and boost intra-trade.
The meeting tackled Egypt’s priorities during its chairmanship of COMESA, which would center on strengthening the bloc countries’ ability to face the coronavirus pandemic and any similar challenges in the future, increasing the supply chains among COMESA member states, maximizing industrial integration and injecting investments in cross-border infrastructure and land-linkage projects, in addition to promoting cooperation in digital transformation.
