Ashraf AboArafe
Mr. Dr. Badr Abdel Aati, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, held talks with Mr. Olivier Nduhungirehe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Rwanda, in Kigali on August 12, on the sidelines of his current visit to Rwanda.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, stated that Minister Abdel Aati stressed during the talks that Mr. President of the Republic attaches special importance to Egyptian-African relations, especially Egypt’s relations with the sisterly Nile Basin countries, with which we share a common destiny, within the framework of achieving common goals that serve the interests of the peoples. In this context, he noted the importance of addressing the continent’s problems within the framework of the principle of African solutions to African issues, and through African initiatives that take into account the specific circumstances of the continent’s countries.
Dr. Abdel Aati also referred to Egypt’s active engagement in the African continent, through Egypt’s current membership in the African Peace and Security Council, as well as the active role played by Cairo during its presidency of COMESA, in addition to the President’s leadership of the post-conflict reconstruction and development file at the African Union level. He expressed Egypt’s readiness to raise the level of political dialogue with Rwanda, and relaunch the work of the joint committee in order to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and open new horizons for cooperation, expressing Egypt’s aspiration to advance relations with Rwanda in a way that achieves the aspirations of the two countries, especially at the economic and investment levels. Ambassador Abu Zeid added that the Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed the Rwandan side’s allocation of a logistics zone for Egypt to facilitate the access of Egyptian companies and investments to the promising Rwandan market, within the framework of providing its urgent needs in various sectors. His Excellency also stressed the Egyptian side’s keenness to support the Rwandan brothers in pivotal sectors such as water resources management and health, and its aspiration to complete the construction work of the medical facility of the Egypt-Rwanda Magdi Yacoub Heart Center, and its expected role in making Rwanda a regional center for medical services for the people of Central and Eastern Africa, expressing Egypt’s aspiration to activate the African Medicines Agency, and the possibility of the agency’s administrative structure benefiting from Egyptian expertise in the field of medicines. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also invited Minister “Nduhungirehe” to visit Egypt at the earliest possible opportunity. The official spokesman added that Minister Abdel Aati reviewed with his Rwandan counterpart Egypt’s vision of the current developments in a number of files, including the raging crisis in the Gaza Strip and the tireless Egyptian efforts to end the crisis by reaching a comprehensive ceasefire, enforcing humanitarian aid, and preventing the outbreak of a large-scale regional war. His Excellency also touched on the latest developments in the Sudanese and Libyan arenas, pointing to Egypt’s tireless efforts to resolve the two crises, in addition to discussing issues of cooperation between the Nile Basin countries, Egypt’s interest in the Horn of Africa region, and Egyptian-Rwandan cooperation within the corridors of the African Union.
For his part, Minister Nduhungirehe congratulated Dr. Abdel-Ati on assuming his position, praising the deep ties between the two countries, listing areas of bilateral cooperation that include culture, education, health, technology and sports, and stressing the importance of enhancing investments and trade exchange between the two countries in light of the fact that this matter represents the main driver of relations between Egypt and Rwanda, adding that there are many memoranda of understanding in various fields between the two sides, which are expected to be signed soon. He also stressed the need to advance relations between the two countries, both bilaterally and at the African level, extending thanks for the great Egyptian support in connection with the establishment of Dr. Magdi Yacoub Heart Center in Rwanda.
The meeting witnessed the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between Egypt and Rwanda in the field of transportation, in the presence of the Minister of Infrastructure and the Secretary General of the Rwandan Intelligence. It was also announced that a plot of land would be allocated to Egypt near the border with Tanzania to establish a logistics zone.
