By:Horndiplomat, Ahram
Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh begins a 48-hour official visit to Egypt at the invitation of his counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received on Sunday his Djiboutian counterpart, President Ismail Omar Guelleh, at Cairo International Airport.
El-Sisi and Guelleh will hold a summit on Monday at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.
The statement welcomed Guelleh, describing him as “the dear guest of his second country, Egypt.”
During the summit, the two presidents will discuss bilateral relations between Egypt and Djibouti as well as the issues of mutual concern, Rady added.
El-Sisi embarked on an official visit to Djibouti in May last year, the first official visit by an Egyptian president to the African country since its independence in the 1970s.
During the visit, he agreed with Guelleh on the importance of reaching a legal and balanced deal between Cairo, Khartoum, and Addis Ababa on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
According to Ahram, Both presidents also reiterated the necessity of engaging in a path to a political settlement that reaches a fair, comprehensive and lasting solution for the decades-old Palestinian cause.
In August, on the heels of El-Sisi’s visit, Egypt announced that it will start the construction of a giant obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics hospital in Djibouti, which will be the first specialised hospital in the African country.
The planned hospital is a gift from the Egyptian people to the people of Djibouti and reflects the good and brotherly relations between the two countries, Djiboutian Health Minister Ahmed Abdilleh said.
Egypt also backed the health sector in Djibouti last year amid the coronavirus pandemic by sending several planes carrying medical aid.
El-Sisi also received Guelleh in Cairo in 2016, where they stressed the importance of enhancing economic and trade cooperation, signed seven MoUs in various fields, including agriculture, technical education, maritime ports and health.
The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Djibouti rose to $48.01 million in 2018, compared to $37.99 million in 2017, according to official figures by the Egyptian Commercial Service.
SOURCE:AHRAM, HORNDIPLOMAT
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