Sisi’s visit to Oman focuses on increasing investments – Presidential spokesman

Egypt’s Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said on Monday that the current Gulf tour of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, that takes him to Oman and Bahrain, comes as part of Egyptian-Arab-Gulf relations.

In a phone interview with Sada el Balad satellite channel, Radi said President Sisi’s visit to Oman focused on furthering bilateral relations and increasing investments between the two countries.

He described as fruitful a summit meeting between President Sisi and Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman, saying it was the first summit between the two leaders since Sultan Haitham came to power.

He termed as balanced and good Oman’s stance towards Egypt, saying the visit reflects brotherly relations binding the two countries.

A roundtable meeting grouping Sisi, Egyptian ministers and Omani businessmen will be held to discuss available investment opportunities, Radi said.

Planning Minister Hala el Saeed and a number of Egyptian businessmen are accompanying Sisi during his current tour.

Sisi’s tour comes less than three weeks before the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC+3 Summit that will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 15 July and will bring together leaders of the GCC in addition to Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and the US.

The presidential spokesman denied there was a food crisis in Egypt, saying the Egyptian State was able to increase its strategic reserves of basic commodities to cover the coming six months.

He praised the way Egypt adopted to handle coronavirus crisis and overcome it.

Egypt was able to confront many challenges starting from coronavirus crisis thanks to the national projects that were executed over past years, economic reforms, increasing the area of cultivated lands, upping agricultural production and lining canals.

Radi said the new Delta and South Valley projects will add 3 million feddans to the area of cultivated lands in Egypt and this will help achieve food security.

He added that silos are now built in most of Egyptian governorates and they were connected by a new road network to enhance the resilience of the national economy and increase growth rates.