China's Ambassador to Cairo Song Aiguo said on Thursday that the upcoming visit of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to China will give a strong thrust to strategic ties between the two countries in all fields. In an interview with the Middle East News Agency Editor-in-Chief and Board Chairman Ali Hassan on Thursday, the Chinese diplomat hailed great achievements made in Egypt during the past four years, especially with regard to preserving the country's security and stability, as well as establishing several mega projects in a short period of time to achieve development. China looks forward to President Sisi's visit, which is the fifth to be paid by the Egyptian leader to the Asian state, Song said. He further underlined that Sisi's visits to China had contributed greatly to pushing forward bilateral ties. Egyptian President El-Sisi left to Bahrain on Thursday on the first leg of a three-nation tour that includes China and Uzbekistan. After Bahrain, the president will head to Beijing where he will take part in the Forum on Chinese-African Cooperation (FOCAC) along with 30 other African leaders the country will host for the September 3-4 event. The once-every-three-years event has seen China offer large loan packages for countries on the continent. During the visit, El-Sisi is due to meet with China's President Xi Jinping and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang. The two presidents are planned to sign a number of cooperation deals and memoranda of understanding in a variety of industries, according to the Egyptian presidency spokesman added. El-Sisi will also sit with top Chinese business executives to discuss boosting their investments in Egypt.
