President Sisi participates in a session discussing reform of the international financial architecture in Nairobi

Special Report: Nairobi

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi participated today in the Africa-France Summit held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Ambassador Mohamed El Shenawy, the official spokesperson, stated presidencyThe President arrived this morning at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, where he was received by President William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, and President Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic.

President Sisi attends the opening session of the summit

The President attended the opening session of the summit, which included speeches by the Kenyan President, the French President, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Mahmoud Ali Youssef, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

This was followed by the President’s participation in the official commemorative photo taken of the leaders and heads of delegations participating in the summit.

The official spokesperson explained that the President also participated in the working session dedicated to discussing the reform of the international financial structure and enhancing African countries’ access to sustainable financing, where he delivered Egypt’s speech to the summit, addressing Egyptian and African priorities regarding the reform of the global financial system.

Text of the President's speech during the session:

“"In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful
Your Excellency, President Ruto,
Your Excellency President/Macron,
Ladies and gentlemen...
Heads of State and Government
International and regional financing institutions,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me, at the outset, to express my sincere thanks to the government and people of the Republic of Kenya for their warm welcome and hospitality, and to express my appreciation to my brother, His Excellency President Ruto, and His Excellency President Macron, for initiating this important summit. I have listened to your valuable interventions, which form the basis for reforming the global financial structure in a way that takes into account the concerns of developing countries and meets the aspirations of their peoples to achieve the desired development.
Ladies and gentlemen,
“There is no development without peace, and no peace without development.” It is no secret to you that the growing geopolitical tensions, including in the Middle East, have consequences that undermine the stability of international supply chains and negatively affect energy and food security, and more severely, our African countries, which are making strenuous efforts to achieve the development goals of their people while also striving to maintain their financial discipline and curb their debt levels.
Distinguished guests,
The turbulent global economic landscape, declining development aid flows, increasing conditionality, and the repercussions of climate change make reforming the international financial system an imperative for achieving peace and development. This requires adopting a comprehensive vision that addresses the dilemma of financing development by enhancing the effectiveness of financing mechanisms and introducing new ones, such as debt-for-development-project swaps and expanding the issuance of green bonds to implement environmentally friendly projects, while developing multilateral banking policies and mobilizing financing from public and private sources.
In this context, I must point out the need to break the vicious cycle of the sovereign debt problem, especially in African countries, many of which now spend more on debt servicing than on health and education combined.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the pursuit of our countries’ development goals, the importance of encouraging exports from developing countries to foreign markets, supporting growth opportunities for emerging industries in the African continent, and the necessity of cooperation to support the activation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, through supporting supply chains between African countries and building capacities and skills for African youth, stands out.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Despite the succession of regional and international crises, Egypt has been able to continue its ambitious economic reform program through an integrated package of measures to control fiscal and monetary policies, develop the legislative environment, and provide attractive incentives for investment in parallel with developing its infrastructure in the fields of roads, communications, transportation and logistics, making Egypt a gateway to the African continent, with all the promising opportunities and potential for the future that this young continent possesses. We look forward to strengthening cooperation with France and all international and regional partners to continue economic and social development programs in Egypt and African countries.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dealing with the turbulent global economic landscape requires us to join forces to strengthen global economic governance and bring about a qualitative shift in the development of its institutions, enabling us to develop fair solutions to existing problems in a way that meets the aspirations of our people to achieve the desired development.
Thank you.”