President Paul Kagame yesterday met and held talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak as part of his ongoing visit to the northern African country.

This was on the second day of his four-day state visit to the country.
In a joint press briefing by Foreign Ministers of the two countries, Egypt’s Ahmed Abdul Geit reported that talks between the two Heads of State centred on strengthening the already existing bilateral relations which he said was indeed a good step towards stronger ties.

It was also noted that Rwanda and Egypt are looking at establishing cooperation in different areas like agriculture, business and trade.

Also discussed were the mutual benefits both countries stand to gain from the Nile Basin Initiative, a grouping to which the two countries subscribe.

Technical teams from both sides are scheduled to meet soon to pave a way forward, according to the officials.

Meanwhile, the two Heads of State agreed that there is hope that their meeting would lead to a general agreement on how to best use the Nile River for the benefit of both nations.

On arrival President Kagame lay wreaths at the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier in honour of Egypt’s fallen soldiers of the October War of 1973 and the late Anwar Sadat who was laid to rest at the site in 1981.

During his 4-day working visit to Egypt, President Kagame, in his capacity as Chair of the EAC Summit, will address the China-Africa Forum to be held in Sharm El Sheikh.

He is also expected to tour several national cultural sites and visit major facilities in the agriculture, energy, industry and commerce sector.

Rwanda and Egypt have enjoyed diplomatic ties since 1970, and the recent 2nd session of the Joint Permanent Commission held in Cairo in September 2009 served to further strengthen this cooperation.

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