President El-Sisi welcomes Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Cairo Egypt was the first stop of Wang’s tour of Africa and will be followed by visits to Tunisia, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Cairo on Sunday. Also in attendance were Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister, and senior Chinese officials. Egypt was the first stop of Wang’s tour of Africa and will be followed by visits to Tunisia, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire. The meeting touched on ways to strengthen frameworks of cooperation. Both sides stressed their resolve to continue joint economic development projects at bilateral level and within the framework of their membership of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa bloc of countries, as well as China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said China’s foreign minister conveyed a letter from President Xi Jinping to President El-Sisi, congratulating him on his re-election. Xi “confirmed China’s commitment to advancing the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and valued Egypt’s role in consolidating security, stability and development in the Middle East,” Fahmy added. During the meeting, El-Sisi highlighted Egypt’s pride in its relations with China. He stressed Egypt’s ongoing support for the one-China principle and commitment to fostering closer coordination to reinforce international peace and stability. El-Sisi and Wang exchanged views on regional and international developments, notably the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The Egyptian president underlined the need for a ceasefire in Gaza to protect civilians and provide them with relief, as well as to defuse regional tensions. Wang concurred with Egypt’s position. Fahmy said the two sides reviewed the historical and humanitarian responsibility taken by Egypt in mobilizing, receiving and assembling humanitarian assistance worldwide. The country’s efforts to surmount the challenges of delivering aid to the people of Gaza — taking place in full coordination with the UN and the international community — featured in the talks. The critical importance of the international community to enforce the delivery of relief into the Gaza Strip, in line with the relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, was emphasized. During the talks, Egypt and China each underlined their positions concerning the need to comply with international law. They reiterated their vehement and categorical rejection of individual and collective forced transfer or displacement of Palestinians. Fahmy said the two sides also agreed on the need to address the root causes of the crisis through a just and comprehensive settlement based on the two-state solution, and to establish an independent Palestinian state in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy.