Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is set to head to China in September to participate in a G20 Summit for the first time, Egypt's trade minister announced on Tuesday. In an official statement by the trade ministry, minister Tarik Kabil said al-Sisi would travel to China to participate as a guest in the 2016 G20 Summit at the invitation of Chinese president and Summit chairman Xi Jinping. The Egyptian president's participation in the upcoming summit would be the first for Egypt since the first summit was held in 2008. The announcement by Kabil came during a joint Egyptian-Chinese ministerial meeting in Beijing that witnessed the signing of memorandums of cooperation between the two nations and the review of a number of projects in various fields in Egypt. Kabil stressed that the deep political relations between Egypt and China contributed to enhancement of economic relations to a level of strategic partnership, deeming it a relationship that would aid in boosting joint trade relations. Egypt and China have been enjoying strong ties and strategic cooperation, with Beijing expressing its support for Egyptian efforts to maintain stability, develop the economy, and improve livelihoods of Egyptians. Overall Chinese investments in Egypt are worth an estimated $546 million. source: Ahram Online
