Egypt hosted African Union representatives on Saturday to discuss trade corridors and regional stability, as Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reaffirmed Cairo’s commitment to the AU’s core principles of state sovereignty and non-interference. As a founding member, Egypt prioritizes joint efforts to bolster peace, security, and development across the continent.
In a meeting with representatives from African Union organizations and offices, Abdelatty explained that these principles form a fundamental pillar of Egypt’s foreign policy across bilateral, regional, and international frameworks. He expressed support for African solutions to African problems and the preservation of national institutions, highlighting the Egyptian president’s leadership in post-conflict reconstruction and his chairmanship of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee.
The minister emphasized economic integration as a central element of Egypt’s Africa policy, with the session joined by Cameroon’s ambassador, dean of the diplomatic corps in Cairo. He spotlighted pioneering initiatives to boost regional cooperation, including the Cairo-Cape Town corridor, the Egypt-Libya-Chad corridor, and the VIC-MED project linking Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea. These efforts, alongside expanded technical support in health, education, agriculture, energy, and construction, aim to advance the African Continental Free Trade Area and the AU’s Agenda 2063.
The discussions addressed the continent’s political and security challenges, urging AU offices to take a more active role in conflict prevention and peaceful crisis resolution. Abdelatty called for stronger ties between AU bodies and Egyptian entities, such as the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development and the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding. The government is providing essential facilities to AU organizations in Egypt, many of which have relocated to the New Administrative Capital to optimize their operations. The meeting ended with an interactive dialogue on future cooperation and strategies to tackle ongoing security and developmental issues.
