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Egypt's President Sisi postpones trip to Zambia

Friday May 24 2019
Sisi

Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Addis Ababa on March 24, 2015. The President postponed a planned visit to Zambia. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By MICHAEL CHAWE

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has a postponed a planned trip to Zambia due to a "compelling domestic agenda," Zambia president’s office has said.

Mr Sisi was due to arrive in Zambia on Thursday for a two-day official visit.

In a message to journalists, Zambian Presidential spokesperson Amos Chanda said President Sisi called President Edgar Lungu to inform him that he was unable to travel to Zambia as planned.

A date was not given for the postponed visit.

The two presidents were set to discuss, among other things, areas of cooperation between the two countries and how to maintain peace in their respective regions, Zambia’s Foreign Affairs minister Joseph Malanji told reporters during briefing earlier in the week.

Egypt and Zambia in 2017 signed four memoranda of understanding in the fields of tourism, health, youth and sports, and agriculture and politics during President Lungu’s visit to Cairo.

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As at September 2018, Zambia’s exports to Egypt stood at over $108 million, according to Zambian authorities.

Recently, Federation of Egyptian Industries head of delegation Sherif El-Gabaly visited Zambia and said he was in the country to develop trade and investment relationships with “countries and sister organisations in Africa”.

Egyptian companies have invested in Zambia in construction, trade and health.

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