Zimbabwe, Egypt relations blossom

Abigail Mawonde Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe and Egypt will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding on political consultation as relations between the two countries continue to blossom.

Speaking during the celebrations to mark the 63rd anniversary of the 23rd of July Revolution (Egypt’s National Day), Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Zimbabwe Mr Bassem Khalil said relations between the two countries were fast growing.

Relations between Zimbabwe and Egypt date back to the pre-independence era when Cairo assisted in the war of liberation.

“The relations between both countries have remained excellent over the past 34 years; however, in the last two years during my tour of duty here as the ambassador of my country in Harare, the relations between both countries witnessed unprecedented progress,” said Mr Khalil.

“On the political level, the presidents of both countries, President Robert Mugabe and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, met on bilateral basis twice since the beginning of this year only.

“The first encounter was during the African Union summit that took place in Addis Ababa in January 2015, and the second encounter came during President Mugabe’s visit to Egypt and participation in the Tripartite African Economic Summit for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and East African Community (EAC) that was held in Sharm-el- Sheikh on June 10, 2015.”

He added: “The two leaders re-affirmed their will and desire to further develop and promote relations between their two countries. President Mugabe also met twice this year with the Prime Minister of Egypt, Ibrahim Mehleb, who headed the Egyptian delegation during the Comesa Summit in Addis Ababa in March 2015, and during the last African Union Summit in Johannesburg in June 2015 chaired by President Mugabe. The foreign ministers of both countries also met on numerous occasions, and there is a Memorandum of Understanding ready to be signed by both countries in the field of political consultation.”

Mr Khalil said the Egyptian leadership and its people were determined to proceed vigorously on the road to development by embarking on major economic projects that promote world trade. He said one of the projects currently underway was the construction of the new Suez Canal, which has always been the shortest route between the East and West.

He also said the new 72km-long canal would run parallel to the old one thereby achieving the optimum fluidity in uninterrupted maritime traffic in both directions, a move expected to reduce transit time and increase shipping capacity in view of expanding world trade.

Meanwhile, President Mugabe has been invited to attend the official opening of the new canal in Egypt next month.