CAIRO – Head of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR) Mohamed El Oraby has described Egypt as a key economic partner to China.
In statements to MENA on the sidelines of symposium “China in a changing world” organised by the Kemet Boutros Ghali Foundation for Peace and Knowledge in cooperation with ECFR, he said that Egypt represents a gate for China to promote its presence in Africa and the Arab world.
He said Egypt’s geographic location is very important to China through the Suez Canal, which is considered a link between the west, the east, Africa and South Europe, a matter that helps the Silk Route initiative.
Oraby hailed the level of Egyptian-Chinese relations, pointing out that the trade exchange between the two countries hit 20 billion dollars last year.
He said the two countries need each other in the aftermath of the Ukrainian-Russian crisis which affected world economy and food.
He praised China’s good offices to achieve reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran and its efforts to put an to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Oraby expressed hope that China would play a key political role in the Arab region and Africa.
