Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with President of the Republic of Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema, during his visit to Zambia, in which he also participated in the COMESA summit.

The Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Ahmed Fahmy, stated that President Hichilema welcomed President El-Sisi to Lusaka, commending the achievements made under Egypt's chairmanship of the COMESA during the past period. He stressed his country's keenness to develop cooperation with Egypt as well as to further consult on the issues and challenges facing Africa, particularly, in view of Egypt's leading role under the leadership of President El-Sisi at the African level and efforts to advance the process of development and maintain peace and security on the African continent.

President El-Sisi stressed Egypt's aspiration to strengthen the historic bilateral relations between the two fraternal countries and to activate the frameworks for joint cooperation in various areas, particularly to increase trade, explore mutual investment opportunities to achieve mutual interests, and further provide various support and capacity-building programs in Zambia. This is in addition to the coordination on the issues of the region and the African continent, expressing his sincere wishes to his brother President Hichilema to successfully lead the COMESA and continue advancing the frameworks of joint cooperation within the coming period.

The meeting also discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations at various levels and agreed on the importance of activating existing mechanisms for cooperation between the two sides. This is in addition to developing economic relations and trade between the two fraternal countries and supporting Zambia's economic development efforts, particularly in the areas of infrastructure development by making use of the expertise of Egyptian companies in this field and maximizing cooperation in agriculture, livestock, fish farming and health sectors.

The talks also addressed the latest regional developments at the continental level as well as the most important files on the COMESA agenda, particularly with regard to strengthening existing efforts to achieve economic and regional integration. The two sides agreed on the importance of continuing work to implement the development goals in the various areas set out in the African Development Agenda 2063, as well as focusing on the implementation of priority continental projects. This is in addition to strengthening African mechanisms for post-conflict reconstruction and development and intensifying efforts to combat terrorism and extremism and supporting security and stability on the African continent.