Officials from major African countries and institutions have held talks in Cairo with their Egyptian counterparts on bilateral relations and regional cooperation.
The meetings included a high-level delegation from South Sudan, led by its Vice President for Economic Affairs, James Wani Igga, and the Prime Minister of Congo, Sama Lokonde Kenji, and President of the African Finance Corporation well as Samila Zubayro.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Igga and the accompanying delegation in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Director of the General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel, and several ministers.
An Egyptian presidential statement said that Sisi appreciated the close relations with the President of South Sudan, embodied in his visit to Juba last November.
Sisi welcomed the first session of the joint higher committee between the two countries in Cairo, which confirms both sides' shared interest in strengthening and advancing bilateral relations in various fields.
"These relations, in turn, would set an example for a strategic development partnership to follow among the Nile Basin countries."
The President also affirmed Egypt's determination to continue providing technical support to South Sudan at all levels, especially in development, to benefit from its experience in agricultural production, irrigation, health and education.
Egypt is keen to provide South Sudan with economic support, in light of its financial integration process in several areas such as investment, trade exchange, energy, infrastructure, and petroleum.
Igga expressed his country's great appreciation for Egypt, its people, and its leadership.
He praised the continuous development in bilateral relations between the two countries, representing a fundamental pillar of development, construction, and progress in South Sudan.
Igga also expressed gratitude to the Egyptian government and people for providing humanitarian aid to the citizens of South Sudan, especially amid the recent crises that hit Juba- the floods, locust infestation, coronavirus outbreak, and the difficult economic conditions.
"This aid reflects the strong ties between the two brotherly countries," read the statement.
Meanwhile, officials held the preparatory meetings for the Egyptian-South Sudanese High Committee in Cairo at the ministerial level.
Madbouly met with his Congolese counterpart Sama Lukonde Kyenge on Tuesday to discuss means to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
The Egyptian prime minister praised the developments in bilateral cooperation, lauding the coordination between the two political leaderships.
Kyenge expressed hope to obtain Cairo's support for the new Kitoko city project by benefiting from Egypt's experiences in implementing the new administrative capital project.
Furthermore, the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, met with the President and CEO of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) Samaila Zubairu, and the accompanying delegation to discuss cooperation opportunities, the ministry said in a statement.
During the meeting, Molla highlighted the recent success stories in the oil and gas industry and the ongoing and the targeted projects in petroleum infrastructure, petrochemicals, and mining.
Molla expressed the sector's keenness to establish a successful partnership with AFC and work together for constructive cooperation in the new projects and contribute to achieving its objectives and investment plans.
