Egypt's participation in G20 to boost its ailing economy

China's invitation to Egypt for the Group of 20 (G20) summit to be held in Hangzhou this September will boost the ailing economy of the North African country, Egyptian experts said.

"It is a great chance for Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to have more discussions on increasing investments in Egypt," Ahmed Wali, former Egyptian foreign minister assistant and economic expert, told Xinhua.

The expert said the invitation is also a cordial message to Africa that cooperation between the two sides will further develop.

"I believe the summit will play a major role in developing economies in Africa," he stressed.

Wali said Egypt will benefit more as it will have a great chance to make some economic deals with the world's biggest economies.

Through his participation, the expert said, Sisi would be able to present Egypt's economic projects and promote for investment in his country.

A record number of developing countries are being invited to the two-day G20 summit as China hopes for a more inclusive world economy.

The G20 mechanism, as a primary platform for international economic cooperation, has long focused on coordinating monetary and fiscal policies among the world's top developed and developing nations in response to global financial crises.

But after eight years of slow recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, urgency can be felt across G20 members for collective actions on more fundamental aspects of the world economy.

Thus, China announced it will put forward a blueprint for innovation-driven growth at this year's summit to find new drivers of global growth through building a new industrial revolution and the digital economy, and spuring dialogue among developed and developing countries.

"It will strengthen world governance and world economy," Wali said.

Development is the theme of the G20 this year, he said, and China has been doing much to improve the economies of developing countries worldwide, especially in Africa.

"China is very influential in the international arena and is a successful example followed by many nations," Wali said. "China seeks peace and prosperity for all countries and it will do its best to achieve this goal through the summit."

Wali said the summit is also important as it will deal with hot political issues, mainly the American-Russian intervention in the Middle East.

The expert expected that a bunch of economic, development and investment deals will be reached during the summit.

In the meantime, Diaa al-Fiqy, chief of Chinese-Egyptian Chamber of Commerce, said a G20 summit will, for the first time, focus on developing countries.

He said bringing more developed and developing economies together will push for a stronger inclusive world economy.

"I believe this summit will enhance cooperation between European and Mideast countries that suffer economically," al-Fiqy said.

The Cairo-based expert told Xinhua this is the first time for Egypt to participate in such big economic summits, which reflects China's belief and confidence that Egypt has a promising economy.

Meanwhile, al-Fiqy reaffirmed that the world trusts China's ability to improve the global economy and build a new world economic system, stressing that the summit is undoubtedly a prime opportunity to reboot global growth.

Commenting on the challenges faced by China during the summit, al-Fiqy said "the major challenge is the American and some other Western countries' reckless political interference into the affairs of other countries."

The U.S. and its Western allies mixed politics and economy in their political battles with other countries, he said, adding that "this has notably affected the global economy."

The expert also expected that the summit may tackle the issue of global terrorism as terror can also be confronted with development and investment.

Source : XINHUA