Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called Saturday for prioritizing peaceful solutions to conflicts and crises in Africa, supporting state institutions and respecting state sovereignty.

“Economic development cannot be built in unstable countries, and stability is not a luxury but a fundamental pillar sought by investors, manufacturers and farmers so they can operate in a safe environment," Sisi said in his opening speech at the Alamein Africa Forum that opened on Friday in the northern Egyptian city of New Alamein.

“Across our African continent, we fully understand that security begins with supporting the national state and its institutions, respecting its unity and sovereignty, prioritizing peaceful solutions to conflicts and crises, and upholding the principle of good neighborliness," he added.

The three-day forum brings together 1,500 officials, business leaders, investors and representatives of financial institutions from Africa, and features sessions focused on economic development and continental integration.

Sisi said Africa’s private sector is the main driver of the continent’s economies, contributing more than 70% of its gross domestic product.

About 85% of transactions by Africa’s private sector are conducted with companies from outside the continent, the Egyptian president added.

Despite trade agreements and preferential arrangements among African countries, intra-African trade has accounted for only about 18% of the continent’s total trade in recent years, Sisi said.

On international developments, Sisi said the African continent aspires for “a world characterized by peace and stability, rather than being made to bear the consequences of global crises in which it was not a party but whose negative repercussions it suffers.”

He cited the current energy crisis as an example, pointing to the impact of rising fuel and fertilizer prices, and disruptions to supply and shipping chains on African countries.

Last February, the African Union summit in Addis Ababa approved holding the Alamein Africa Forum every two years in New Alamein.

Egypt is organizing the forum in cooperation with the African Export-Import Bank and the African Union Development Agency. (AA)

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