Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi is currently on a State visit to Vietnam from September 6-7 at
the invitation of Vietnamese State President Tran Dai Quang.
Although Vietnam and
Egypt have traditionally enjoyed a good relationship, President Abdel Fattah
el-Sisi is the first Egyptian president who has ever visited Vietnam since the
two countries established diplomatic relations in 1963.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Thus, this visit bears
historic significance in the history of the Vietnam-Egypt relationship and also
demonstrates Egypt’s desire to deepen its relations with Vietnam.
The visit is also seen as
a good opportunity for the two sides to discuss issues of mutual concern and to
seek effective approaches to expanding the bilateral cooperation in various
fields, particularly economics, trade, investment, culture and tourism.
Egypt is a large and
influencing country in North Africa. It has an important geostrategic position
as it links Africa and Asia.
Regarding its position in
the region and the world as a whole, Egypt contributes a relatively large
amount to the operational budget of the African Union (AU) and this year
represents the Africa-Arab group as a non-permanent member at the UN Security
Council in the 2016-17 term. What is more, Egypt plays a major role in the
Middle-East peace process as well as the settlement processes of the Libya
crisis and Darfur conflict.
President Abdel Fattah Al
Sisi took office in 2014. Since then, under his leadership, the Egyptian
Government has pursued the "Look East” policy, with priorities given to its
relations with Asian countries, including Vietnam. In September 2016, Egypt
officially joined the ASEAN-founded Treaty for Amity and Cooperation (TAC).
In Africa, Egypt is the
second largest in terms of economy and population, and one of the leading
regional countries in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). The country’s
major economic sectors include tourism, oil industry, garment and textile,
agricultural processing industry, chemistry and construction.
President Abdel Fattah Al
Sisi’s Government has continued economic reforms for several years. Together
with financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), initial
fruitful results of these economic reforms have brought the country stable
economic development. This year, Egyptian economic growth rate is forecast at
5%.
Vietnam and Egypt have
enjoyed traditional friendly and comprehensive relations. The two countries
frequently support each other at international forums. Especially, Vietnam
received full support from Egyptian authorities in evacuating Vietnamese
citizens from riots and conflicts in Libya in 2011 and 2014. The two sides also
shared their views at UN forums.
Regarding trade and economic
ties, Egypt is Vietnam’s second largest trade partner in Africa. The two-way
trade reached USD 316 million in 2016. Major Vietnamese exports to Egypt
include seafood, automobile spare-parts, fiber and cloth, black pepper, coffee,
rubber and consumer goods while Egypt’s main exports to Vietnam are chemicals,
oil products, milk and dairy products.
Egypt has two projects
valued at USD
The two countries signed
a number of deals on trade, economics, technical assistance and aviation
cooperation, and set up a Vietnam-Egypt joint Business Council in July 2009.
However, the bilateral
investment, trade and economic ties between the two countries have still been
so modest in comparison to their potentials.
Remarkably, Egypt was the
first country in North Africa to recognize Vietnam as a market economy.
Every year, Egypt offers
12 scholarships to Vietnamese students studying Arabic in the country.
Although Vietnam and
Egypt have not often exchanged visits of senior leaders, ministerial- and
local-level authorities of the two sides have actively boosted bilateral
cooperation.
Warmly welcoming Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to Vietnam, the Vietnamese people believe that
the visit has opened a new chapter in the Vietnam-Egypt relationship.
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