Chinese President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

President Xi Jinping welcomed Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Beijing on Wednesday, as the Chinese capital hosts a number of Arab dignitaries for a forum it hopes will deepen ties with the region.

Several Arab leaders are this week visiting Beijing, which is seeking to present a “common voice” on the conflict between Israel and Hamas and improve cooperation.

Mr. Xi met Mr. Sisi in a grand ceremony outside Beijing’s Great Hall of People on Wednesday afternoon, state media footage showed, with the national anthems of both countries blaring out.

Cairo has said the two will discuss “regional and international issues of common interest”.

“Discussions will tackle ways to forge closer bilateral relations and to unlock broader prospects for cooperation in an array of fields,” the Egyptian presidency said.

Beijing has sought to build closer ties with Arab states in recent years, and last year brokered a detente between Tehran and its long-time foe Saudi Arabia.

It has also historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

And Beijing last month hosted rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah for “in-depth and candid talks on promoting intra-Palestinian reconciliation”.

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as a host of other regional leaders and diplomats, is also among the delegates attending the forum.

Mr. Xi is set to deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony on Thursday, Beijing has said, aimed at building “common consensus” between China and Arab states.

Top of the agenda will be the war between Israel and Hamas, which Mr. Xi has called for an “international peace conference” to resolve.

‘Strategic opportunity’

China sees a “strategic opportunity to boost its reputation and standing in the Arab world” by framing its efforts to end that conflict against U.S. inaction, Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow with the Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Programme, told AFP.

“This, in turn, serves Beijing’s focus on undermining the US’s credibility and influence in the region,” he said.

“The longer the war, the easier for China to pursue this objective,” he added.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with counterparts from Yemen and Sudan in Beijing, saying he hoped to “strengthen solidarity and coordination” with the Arab world.

He also raised China’s concerns over disruptive attacks on Red Sea shipping by Iran-backed Huthi forces acting in solidarity with Hamas with his Yemeni counterpart Shayea Mohsen al-Zindani.

“China calls for an end to the harassment of civilian vessels and to ensure the safety of waterways in the Red Sea,” state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi begins his third term this week buoyed by massive fresh financing, but experts say the road out of economic crisis will still be long and arduous.

Mr. Sisi won December’s presidential election with 89.6% of the vote. He is set to begin his third term officially on Wednesday, as Cairo struggles to contain the fallout from two years of punishing economic crisis and dire foreign currency shortages. Local media reported that he will swear the oath before parliament on Tuesday.

This six-year term is set to be the 69-year-old’s last, unless another constitutional amendment again prolongs his tenure.

As 2024 began, the Arab world’s most populous country seemed to be hurtling towards default and economic collapse, analysts said, before it suddenly received more than $50 billion in loans and investments.

Within weeks, the United Arab Emirates announced a $35-billion land development deal for Egypt’s Ras al-Hikma, the International Monetary Fund more than doubled a $3-billion loan, and the World Bank and European Union inked fresh financing agreements.

The massive bailout has saved Egypt “from falling into the abyss”, according to former deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa-Eldin.

But concern has mounted that, without major reform Egypt could still find itself in a new cycle of crisis.

Cairo:

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be sworn in on Tuesday for a third consecutive term in the new capital being built outside Cairo, government newspaper Al-Ahram confirmed Monday.

In power for over a decade, Sisi “will take the oath of office on the constitution Tuesday in the new parliament premises in the administrative capital”, east of Cairo, Al-Ahram said.

Officially, the 69-year-old Sisi will begin his term on Wednesday, more than three months after he was reelected with 89.6 percent of the vote against three largely-unknown candidates.

The former head of the army and minister of defence, Sisi led the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi following massive popular protests around the country.

His new term of six years is supposed to be his last, according to the constitution.

MP Mustafa Bakri, who is close to the ruling powers, said the government will likely resign after Sisi’s inauguration to allow for a cabinet reshuffle.

The swearing-in comes against the background of a severe economic crisis, with spiralling inflation and a foreign currency shortage that is stifling foreign trade.

In the first trimester of 2024, however, Egypt benefitted from an influx of billions of dollars, of which $35 billion came from the United Arab Emirates, and an increase of $5 billion of an original loan of $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

Sisi’s supporters say the flow of foreign currency will revitalise the economy, but observers are sceptical there will be any improvement without structural reforms to reduce the outsize role of the army and government in the economy.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)