Egypt’s Sisi grants Mauritanian president ‘Order of the Nile’ medal

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi bestowed on his Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Ould Abdel-Aziz the ‘Order of the Nile’ medal during the latter’s visit to Cairo on Sunday.

The medal, Egypt’s highest state honor, is granted for exceptional services to the nation, and has been awarded to Nobel Prize winners Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; prominent novelist Naguib Mahfouz; professor of cardiothoracic surgery Magdy Yaquob; and interim president Adly Mansour.

The medal may be granted to other heads of state and was awarded to Nelson Mandela as well as a number of other presidents and politicians.

Abdel-Aziz’s visit aimed to discuss bilateral relations with Egypt, with the two presidents signing six memorandums of understanding relating to cooperation on health, culture, mining, population, livestock and maritime transport.

He is set to visit a number of Egyptian economic and investment projects and will meet with Egyptian businessmen to discuss ways of increasing economic cooperation between the two countries.

Abdel-Aziz was among the African heads of state who attended the inauguration ceremony of an extension of Egypt’s Suez Canal in 2015.

Mauritania will host the 27th summit of the Arab League, which is headquartered in Egypt, on 26-27 July.

source: Ahram Online