Egyptian President flies to Saudi Arabia for Arab-South American summit

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will travel to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Tuesday to take part in the Fourth Summit of Arab-South American Countries that is to take place on 10-11 November, the state-owned MENA agency reported Monday.

In a statement by the Egyptian presidency, spokesman Alaa Youssef said that al-Sisi will meet Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz to discuss the latest on the “fraternal bilateral relations” between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as other regional developments.

Youssef added that the Egyptian president’s participation in the summit presents a good chance to promote relations with participating Arab and South American countries, as well as discuss regional and international areas of common interest.

All Arab countries, excluding the war-hit Syria, are expected to attend the two-day summit.

Youssef also said that al-Sisi is keen to take part in the forum in order to stimulate cooperation between Egypt and South American countries in all fields, especially in light of the economic growth these countries were able to achieve in recent years and from which Egypt can benefit in its path to development.

The South American countries participating in the summit include Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Uruguay and Paraguay.

A ‘Riyadh Declaration’ is expected to be issued during the summit and is to include a summary of the most pivotal political issues that interest concerned parties, including the Palestinian issue as well as developments in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

The declaration is to also include important issues for South American countries, including cooperation in economic, social, cultural and scientific fields.

source: Ahram Online