Sisi meets Xi on second day of China visit

On his second day in China, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Sisi's visit coincides with China's celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

President Xi praised the participation of the Egyptian Armed Forces in a parade that China will organize on the occasion.

This comes as part of the strategic partnership between Beijing and Cairo, Xi said.

Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said the Chinese president was pleased with Egypt's achievements at the political and economic levels in just one year.

Xi also praised national unity in Egypt, Youssef said.

He spoke highly of practical steps taken since December 2014 with the aim to boost bilateral cooperation, Youssef added.

The meeting also tackled trade coordination between the two countries, the presidential spokesman said.

Youssef said President Sisi congratulated Xi on the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Sisi said he was looking forward to having Xi in Egypt with the aim to further boost bilateral cooperation in all fields.

Xi welcomed the idea and promised to pay a visit to Egypt, the presidential spokesman said.

Sisi welcomed Chinese investments to Egypt. He reviewed a number of projects Chinese businessmen can contribute to. The Egyptian president particularly mentioned the economic zone of the Suez Canal, which will include many promising projects in the different fields.

This will help Chinese investors tap markets neighboring Egypt in the Arab world and Africa as well, Sisi told Xi.

Sisi said the New Suez Canal and the Corridor projects in Egypt and China's initiative to revive the ancient Silk Road will accommodate an expected increase in the maritime navigation movement.

Egypt and China will be celebrating 60 years of diplomatic ties next year, Xi said, noting that many cultural activities will be held in the two countries to mark the occasion.

Xi said his country is interested in promising investment opportunities in Egypt. The Chinese government encourages businessmen to invest and manufacture in Egypt, he told Sisi.

He also invited Egyptian companies to take part in international fairs that China organizes with the aim to boost economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Xi said China fully supports Egypt's efforts to counter terrorism, violence and extremism.

Regionally speaking, the two leaders agreed on the importance of finding political solutions to crises facing a number of countries in the Middle East. The resulting humanitarian crises should also be taken into consideration, Sisi and Xi said.

The two leaders then witnessed the inking of a framework deal to boost cooperation in the field of productive capacity and another between the China Development Bank (CDB) and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) to provide a 100-million-dollar loan to finance small and medium-sized enterprises.

Source: MENA