Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Chinese counterpart Chen Gang underlined profound cooperation relations between the two countries in various fields.
This came during a joint press conference held here Sunday at the end of their talks.
Shoukry welcomed the Chinese foreign minister, who is on his first foreign visit since assuming his post, wishing him success in his new duties.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi received the Chinese top diplomat Sunday where they discussed bilateral relations in the political, economic and cultural fields with an emphasis on the existing political will and directives from the two leaderships to advance relations to broader horizons, Shoukry said.
He described Egyptian-Chinese relations as deep in history, especially as both countries have ancient civilizations.
He said he held a separate session of talks with the Chinese minister, followed by an expanded session attended by delegations of the two countries, where they discussed activating cooperation at the bilateral level, politically and economically, and at the multilateral level, referring to strategic relations between both nations.
The growing economic relations between Cairo and Beijing in recent years have contributed to Egypt’s development efforts, he stressed.
Egyptian-Chinese relations are based on principles of mutual respect, non-interference into domestic affairs of each country, and working for the common benefit of both nations, Shoukry said.
Beijing has expressed its willingness to maintain mutual cooperation in the industrial sector, while working for promoting technology transfer and ensuring that the global economic system is run in a just manner, without prejudice to the interests of developing nations. he added.
Highlighting the importance of tourism as an area of fruitful cooperation and a significant GDP contributor for Egypt, Shoukry said Cairo is looking forward to increasing tourist traffic from China.
Shoukry also voiced Cairo’s appreciation for Beijing’s role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to establish peace and stability.
He also expressed Egypt’s interest in maintaining mutual coordination with China, not just at the bilateral level, but also at the trilateral levels, given Egypt’s membership in the Group of 77 and China and the latter’s strong tries with African and Arab countries.
Meanwhile, Qin described the Egyptian-Chinese ties as comprehensive and strategic, lauding the remarkable breakthrough in bilateral cooperation over the past three years, especially for combating the coronavirus pandemic.
Qin also hailed his talks with Shourky earlier today as fruitful.
He said the talks covered a wide range of regional and international issues of mutual concern, noting that broad agreements had been reached on these issues.
Qin also asserted his country’s interest in furthering economic cooperation, boosting Chinese imports from Egypt.
“We encourage Chinese companies to pump more investments in Egypt and build economic partnerships with Egyptian peers in all economic sectors,” the Chinese official said.
He also underlined his country’s support for Egypt’s efforts towards comprehensive economic development and renaissance.
“China had recently introduced certain amendments to its Zero COVID Policy,” Qin said, noting that his government is in favor of increasing tourist traffic to Egypt.
He also revealed his country’s intention to increase direct flights between Egyptian and Chinese airports to pre-COVID levels.
Source: State Information Service Egypt