Ashraf AboArafe
On August 11, Dr. Badr Abdel Aati, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, met with His Excellency William Ruto, President of Kenya, on the sidelines of participating in the inauguration ceremony of Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Dr. Abdel Aati conveyed during the meeting an oral message from His Excellency the President of the Republic to his Kenyan counterpart, including conveying His Excellency’s greetings and appreciation to his brother His Excellency the Kenyan President, and congratulating His Excellency on the occasion of the announcement of the new government formation in Kenya, which took place on August 8, expressing Egypt’s aspiration for this important development to contribute to completing the economic development process launched by President “Ruto”, as well as looking forward to working with the new government to strengthen bilateral relations in areas of common interest, and His Excellency’s invitation for President Ruto to visit his second country, Egypt, in the near future.
During the meeting, Minister Abdel-Aati expressed Egypt’s great appreciation for bilateral relations with Kenya, which are characterized by a historical nature at the popular and official levels, praising the high level of coordination between the President of the Republic and the Kenyan President, which was reflected in the number of bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the African summits, as well as phone calls to coordinate on all issues of common interest during the past period, stressing the keenness to maintain this high level of coordination in connection with the size and position of the two brotherly countries on the African scene and the depth of historical relations between them.
The official spokesman added that the Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed to the importance of working to enhance the level of bilateral relations by taking more steps to support the frameworks of relations in various fields, in a way that adds more momentum to the escalating pace of bilateral relations, and in a way that contributes to bringing relations to the level of strategic partnership, in addition to raising the volume of existing trade exchange, as well as increasing Egyptian investments in Kenya by strengthening partnerships with the private sector in many fields, most notably transportation, agriculture, infrastructure and irrigation.
The spokesman explained that Dr. Abdel Aati praised Kenya’s mediation efforts in South Sudan, as well as the important Kenyan role in enhancing stability in the East African region, stressing Egypt’s keenness to continue its efforts in support of this path and in an effort to consolidate the stability of this important region. The meeting also discussed a number of issues on the African and Middle Eastern scene, most notably the situation in Sudan and the Gaza crisis, as well as ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries within the corridors of the African Union and various international forums. The Foreign Ministry spokesman added that His Excellency President Ruto stressed the depth of the deep historical ties between Egypt and Kenya, and asked to convey his sincere greetings, appreciation and great respect to the President of the Republic for the leadership role he plays in supporting security and stability in the Arab and African regions. President Ruto also praised the distinguished level of bilateral relations between the two countries, indicating his complete agreement on the issue of raising relations between the two countries to the strategic level, and his aspiration to respond to the invitation extended by the President to visit Egypt. He also stressed the importance of continuing to work on advancing economic and trade relations, as well as the agreement to intensify the pace of joint consultation and continuous coordination in connection with all issues raised based on the existing consensus on them, most notably water issues, resolving disputes through peaceful means, and consolidating security and stability at the regional and international levels.
