Ashraf AboArafe
On March 5, Dr. Badr Abdel Aati, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, met with President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo in the presence of the Congolese Minister of Defense in the capital Brazzaville, carrying a message from His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to his Congolese counterpart, addressing the positive developments in Egyptian-Congolese relations, and looking forward to taking further steps during the coming period to advance priority areas of bilateral cooperation, in a way that achieves the interests of the two countries and the two brotherly peoples.
Minister Abdel Aati conveyed the greetings of the President of the Republic to his brother, President Denis Sassou Nguesso, stressing the depth of the strong historical relations between the two brotherly countries, and the desire to advance bilateral relations in all fields, pointing out the importance of preparing for the second session of the joint committee between the two countries, and expressed Egypt’s readiness to support Congo in activating the National Development Plan 2022-2026, in line with the development goals included in the plan in the fields of agriculture, digital transformation, tourism, real estate, industry, and the development of special economic zones, reviewing Egyptian expertise in these fields, especially the management of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the development and digitization of government systems and services, and major infrastructure projects in new cities in Egypt. Minister Abdel Aati pointed out that the volume of Egyptian investments in African countries has increased by more than $ 14 billion, noting that the great potential and experience enjoyed by Egyptian companies in Africa enables them to implement major projects in many vital fields such as infrastructure, energy, health, agriculture, and medicine. In this context, he pointed out the keenness to implement the project to supply the industrial zone in the city of “Maluku” with drinking water and electricity, and stressed the importance of strengthening economic, investment and trade relations between the two countries, and sending a delegation of Egyptian businessmen to Brazzaville to hold an economic forum in priority sectors for both sides.
The Minister also reviewed the training programs provided by the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, and the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development, stressing Egypt’s readiness to support capacity building of national cadres in the Congo by expanding training programs and scholarships, in addition to sending doctors in the required specialties and exchanging expertise in the pharmaceutical industry.
On the other hand, the meeting addressed a number of regional issues of common interest, most notably the situation in Libya, where Minister Abdel Aati congratulated President “Sassou Nguesso” on the success of his efforts in signing the Libyan reconciliation agreement during the recent African Union summit. The two sides discussed the latest developments in Sudan, the efforts made to reach a settlement to the crisis leading to an end to the conflict, as well as the latest developments in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, appreciating the historic African support for the rights of the Palestinian people.
The two sides also stressed the importance of consultation and coordination between the two countries in international forums to unify positions, exchange support for the two countries’ nominations for influential international positions, and support the nominations approved by the African Union in international forums, especially the nomination of Dr. Khaled El-Enany for the position of Director-General of UNESCO.
For his part, President Denis Sassou Nguesso asked to convey his greetings to His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, expressing his great appreciation for the fraternal relations between Egypt and the Congo, praising Egypt’s active role in the African continent and its efforts to enhance security and stability. He stressed his keenness to enhance economic cooperation to achieve the common interests of the two brotherly countries.
