Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi participated on Friday via videoconference in a high-level dialogue session on global development organized by the international “BRICS+ platform.
The session was presided over by Chinese President, Xi Jinping, the current chair of the BRICS grouping, and saw participation from several heads of state and governments.
The president said the status of the BRICS grouping has been growing steadily, thanks to the size of the economies of its member states.
These economies, he said, represent over 20% of the global gross domestic product.
The grouping, he added, also has a heavy weight in in international forums, both at the political and economic levels.
“It plays a prominent role in promoting South-to-south co-operation,” the Egyptian leader said of BRICS grouping. This was President Sisi’s second participation in the BRICS summit. He participated in the summit for the first time in 2017 in China.
The BRICS grouping is one of the most important economic gatherings in the world, Presidency Spokesman, Ambassador Bassam Radi, said.
He added that President Sisi’s participation in the high-level dialogue session of this year’s summit highlights Egypt’s position and pioneering political, economic and commercial capabilities at the regional level.
These capabilities qualify Egypt to strengthen its relations with this important development forum, Ambassador Radi said.
He added that the invitation extended to President Sisi to participate in the summit also reflects the strength of ties between Egypt and China, which are based on a comprehensive strategic partnership in various fields, as well as close relations between the Egyptian leader and his Chinese counterpart.
President Sisi told the gathering that Egypt appreciates the global development initiative put forward by China to refocus on development issues through the revitalization of international development co-operation.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
