President Abdel Fattah El Sisi hailed the under-construction Dabaa nuclear power plant as an important cooperation project with Russia.During his virtual speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, President Sisi greeted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the silver jubilee of the forum, which has been serving since its launching in 1997 as a pioneering platform for the business community, as well as being a distinguished economic event for discussing the main economic issues facing emerging markets and the world.
President Sisi explained that Egypt’s selection as the guest of honor of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) reflects the distinguished level of Egyptian-Russian economic relations over recent years.
The president said the forum is held amid unprecedented political and economic challenges, expressing hope the event comes up with recommendations that could contribute to finding effective solutions to these challenges, in a way that alleviates the impact of the current global economic crisis, which has taken its toll on many world economies, especially the economies of emerging countries.
President Sisi noticed that Egypt is proud of the well-established historic ties with Russia, lauding the recent significant progress in Egyptian-Russian relations in several vital sectors.
The president went on to say that Egypt and Russia have been involved over the recent years in implementing mega and ambitious projects that achieve the two countries’ aspirations for further economic progress, citing the Dabaa nuclear power plant’s project, which comes as part of the State’s strategy for expansion into new and renewable energy projects.
In this regard, President Sisi also pointed to the establishment of the Russian Industrial Zone at the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), which is expected to become an important hub for strengthening industry in Africa.
Cairo has recently launched the National Climate Change Strategy 2050, and is currently finalizing its updated national contributions, which will include specific, ambitious and quantitative goals in key sectors, to reflect efforts made by Egypt to achieve a fair transition towards a green economy and renewable energy in an appropriate manner that paves the way for turning Egypt into a regional energy hub, President Sisi said.
Despite the governments’ key role in the global effort to confront climate change, this serious challenge has exceeded their ability to act alone, Sisi said.
During its COP 27 chairmanship, Egypt will work to keep pace with all voices, visions and trends, and to establish real partnerships between governments and non-governmental actors, including financial institutions and international and civil society organizations, he added.
“We will work in partnership with all the bodies concerned to promote the current climate initiatives, follow up on the implementation of their results, and launch ambitious new initiatives to complement and support government climate action,” Sisi stressed.
The State launched Egypt’s Vision 2030 to bring about sustainable development goals at the economic, social and environmental levels, the president said.
President Sisi stated that the legislative reforms introduced by the Egyptian government to lure further foreign investments qualified Egypt to top the list of African countries attracting foreign investments and become one of the world’s few countries capable of attaining a growth rate that stood at 3.3% in 2021, despite the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy.
The president expected that Egypt’s economy would grow by 5.5% in the current fiscal year, noting that the country’s non-oil exports in 2021 reached dlrs 32 billion.
He said that Egypt established giant agricultural projects, with the aim of increasing farmlands by about 2 million acres, in addition to executing other huge projects in the fields of industry, transport and clean energy.
The president added that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis caused a decline in growth rates and negatively affected countries’ budgets, given the rise in fuel prices and the drop in the prices of national currencies against hard currencies, as well as the disruption of supply chains that led to the emergence of food crisis.
President Sisi called on international parties to cooperate for restoring maritime traffic and supply chains to normal, in addition to work to restore calm and stability at the international level.
Source: State Information Service Egypt