President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s activities in a week

 President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had a series of meetings with ministers to discuss domestic affairs and with foreign officials on international issues.
The president started the week with attending a celebration marking the Science Day on Saturday at the Cairo International Conference Center.
Addressing the event, Sisi greeted Egyptian scientists and appreciated their national efforts.
Sisi said despite the challenges facing Egypt, the country is moving on the right track.
He stressed the importance of science in all applications of life and its contribution to improving the living conditions and fulfilling the needs of citizens.
He announced launching a national initiative to build an "Egyptian society that can learn, think and create".
The president had assigned the newly-formed specialized council for education and scientific research to prepare the initiative since September.
It aims to redirect the state's priorities to build an 'Egyptian citizen' through developing and overhauling the scientific research system in the country on the short, medium and long run.
Sisi called on the private sector and business community to contribute to funding and developing scientific research.
He urged the board of trustees of the "Tahya Misr" fund (Long Live Egypt) to double financial allocations for innovations and scientific research.
He awarded the Medal of Arts and Science of First Class to a number of Egyptian scientists in appreciation of their scientific efforts in the fields of medicine, engineering, science, agriculture and genetic engineering.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Saturday chaired a ministerial meeting to review ongoing preparations to launch an international logistics center in Damietta.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and the ministers of planning, housing, supply, finance, transport and investment attended the meeting.
The project aims at transforming Egypt into a hub for storing grains and food commodities.
During the meeting, the president was briefed on the progress achieved in a number of ongoing national projects.
The president also met with renowned Egyptian geologist Farouk el-Baz to review a number of national projects the government plans to establish.
They also discussed the progress achieved in the implementation of a number of scientific projects.
He received at the presidential palace Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hesham Ramez, Planning Minister Ashraf el Arabi and Investment Minister Ashraf Salman.
The meeting took up following up a host of economic files, including the performance of Egyptian economic and preparations of the new national projects along with Sisi's projected visit to China.
Egypt is keen on luring private investment, either local or foreign one, Sisi affirmed.
He also underlined the important role played by the private sector in promoting economic and social development and implementing projects which aim to provide jobs and raising the citizens' standard of living.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued a decree Monday amending some provisions of Law No. 8 of 2009 on protecting the country's manuscripts.
Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said the decree aims at criminalizing any attempt to smuggle manuscripts outside the republic, the item which was not present in the previous decree.
The spokesman said any manuscript that constitutes an artisan or intellectual creativity will be preserved in line with the new decree.
Sisi issued a decree amending some provisions of Law No. 109 of 1971 on police authority.
The new decree aims at creating a new category among police staffers (security assistant).
The new post will absorb the young people, who are healthy and fit psychologically and athletically and finished prep-schools, to train them on police jobs.
The young men (between 19 and 23 years of age) will receive training according to the most advanced programs to boost their capabilities on maintaining security.
Sisi issued five decrees on cooperation with the United States in the fields of electricity generation, science and technology, higher education, agriculture, trade and investments in Egypt.
The decrees include an approval on a loan agreement between Egypt, the United States and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) for financing al-Walidia electricity generation plant with EGP 55 million.
The four other agreements cover grants to science and technology, higher education, agriculture and rural development, and trade and investment.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Wednesday inaugurated the renovated Hurghada International Airport.
During Sisi's tour of the airport, Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal said the cost of the new terminal building reached EGP 2 billion and its capacity increased from 7.5 to 13 million passengers annually.
Kamal briefed Sisi on the details of the renovation works at the airport that aims at upgrading the levels of civil aviation in Egypt to be up to international standards in order to help achieve the economic and social targets.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, Minister of Defense Sedqi Sobhi, Minister of Interior Mohammad Ibrahim and top state officials attended the inauguration.
Sisi expressed deep thanks to the great efforts exerted to renovate Hurghada International Airport.
Addressing the ceremony held at the inauguration of the airport, the president hailed efforts to develop the terminal at costs reaching EGP 450 million for the 60-meter wide, four-km long tarmac alone.
President Sisi said the project of establishing the Hurghada International Airport's aviation field should not exceed four to five months.
Now is time for giving to the homeland, the president said, adding that efforts and production are huge and rates should exceed the normal.
He called on the Egyptian people not be different over Egypt. Egypt will remain strong with the coherence of its people, he said.
No one can bring Egypt backwards. The people should remain a single block that cannot be divided, the president said
He asserted that the government will not turn its back to poor people and low-income brackets.
Sisi asserted that the government is committed to its transparent policy, noting that many mega projects would be unveiled very soon once the equipment needed for their completion are available.
The president said the new wheat silos would be added to an electronic database that provides updated information for bodies concerned.
He noted that an EGP 40-billion worth mobile power stations would be imported to face possible power crisis next summer.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi welcomed visiting Chadian President Idriss Deby on Sunday.
Following their talks, Sisi said Egypt appreciates Chad's supportive stances of Egypt inside the African Union.
Egypt is adamant to continue building Chadian capabilities in different spheres through Al-Azhar and the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development, Sisi said.
The talks also addressed the developments in Libya, Sudan and Central Africa, he said.
The meeting was positive and constructive and reflected both sides' keenness to promote cooperation, he said.
Deby hailed development efforts in Egypt and President Sisi's leadership of the country.
As for the situation in Libya, Deby said it has been getting more complicated.
Chad, a neighbor of Libya, is keen on backing its stability and security, he said, urging the international community to help Libya by making its political powers engage into dialogue to achieve the unity and safety of its lands.
To this end, a series of meetings of Libya's neighboring countries have been held in Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan and Egypt, he said, adding that the latest developments in the country require more efforts to enforce the 11-point roadmap signed by the foreign ministers in August in Egypt.
The Community of Sahel-Saharan States call on President Sisi to work more on Libya's stability, he said.
Sisi met with visiting Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich Tuesday.
Dvorkovich arrived in Cairo on Monday for talks with Egyptian officials on ways to boost bilateral ties. Russian President Vladimir Putin is to visit Egypt next year.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has highlighted Egypt's right to the Nile water.
During a meeting Thursday at the Presidential Palace with members of the Ethiopian People’s Diplomatic Delegation, which groups prominent academicians, former ambassadors, religious leaders, artists, journalists and other prominent personalities, Sisi asked the Ethiopian delegation to issue a parliamentary decision recognizing Egypt's absolute right to the Nile River water.
Sisi, meanwhile, affirmed that Egypt starts a new era in Africa, especially with Ethiopia, said Presidential Spokesman Ambassador Alaa Youssef.
The president further underlined the need of cooperation with Ethiopia in order to confront challenges facing the two countries.
Sisi said he had confidence that the Ethiopian people would not harm their "Egyptian brothers even by taking one drop of water from Nile River."
The president hailed the deep-rooted ties binding Egypt and Ethiopia.
The Egyptian doctors established a fund, with a capital worth 500 million dollars to offer health services and cooperate with their African neighbors, Sisi said, adding that much of the resources of that fund were allocated to Ethiopia.
Members of the Ethiopian People’s Diplomatic Delegation have stressed that Egypt's share in the Nile water will never be reduced.
After meeting with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Thursday, the delegation said that their visit to Egypt aims at stressing the deeply-rooted relations between the two states.
Ethiopia's Parliament Speaker Abadula Gemeda has said that his country is looking forward to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's visit.
He predicted that such a visit could boost talks over the renaissance dam.
Sisi reiterated on Thursday the importance of stability in the Central African Republic (CAR), highlighting efforts to reach stronger relations.
The president made the remarks during a meeting with President of Central African Republic Catherine Samba-Panza.
During the meeting, CAR's president reviewed with Sisi the roadmap adopted by Bangui transitional government to reach stability.
Also, she invited Egyptian president to visit CAR. Sisi promised make a trip to Bangui soon.
CAR has been rocked over the past year by sectarian violence that left at least 5,000 people dead.
UN peacekeepers are trying to stabilize the country, and both the Christian militia and Muslim rebels have agreed to put down their arms.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has said Egypt can serve as a gate to the Chinese exports to Africa.
His statements on Thursday came during a meeting with a Chinese delegation comprising representatives of state-run Xinhua news agency, China Central TV (CCTV), People's Daily and China Radio International (CRI).
The meeting comes within the framework of major Chinese media outlets' interest in the president's upcoming visit to China, slated for December 23, presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said.
The meeting tackled the fields of cooperation which the two countries sought to promote and the aspects of bilateral relations.
It also took up ways through which Egypt could benefit from China's economic experience and cooperation at the level of the mega projects carried out by Egypt, the spokesman said.
During the meeting, Sisi stressed Egypt's keenness to establish balanced foreign policy which was open to the whole world.
He added that Egypt was looking forward to consolidating its relations with China, noting that the ties between the two countries were long-standing since decades.
Sisi stressed his country's support for the Chinese president's initiative to revive the Silk Road, pointing out that Egypt's readiness to back such positive plans seeking to achieve the interests of the peoples of those countries.
He also reaffirmed that Egypt was exerting strenuous efforts at all political, economic and social levels to restore its pioneering position in the world.
He listed some development projects which were being carried out, including the Suez Canal Corridor Development project.
"We are looking forward to developing our strategic relations with our friends in China," Sisi told a Chinese official media, including Xinhua, on Thursday at the presidential palace in Cairo.
Ahead of his planned official four-day visit to Beijing, which is scheduled to kick off on Dec 23, the Egyptian president described the Chinese-Egyptian ties as "very special, strong and stable" and commended China's balanced policies toward other countries.
"China has balanced policies and does not interfere in other countries' domestic affairs, which is one of the reasons for China's success," Sisi said.
Sisi, who will soon make his first visit to China since his election in June, said that China has achieved tremendous progress over the past 40 years, noting that Egypt needs to benefit from the Chinese development experience.
Egypt has recently established a cabinet unit specified for China led by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, including a number of key ministers as members, to study fields of cooperation with China. "I hope cooperation with China will be at the highest level," Sisi said.
"Cooperation between Egypt and China is not new, and the purpose of the visit is to confirm and develop this cooperation and discuss Chinese investment chances in Egypt," the president said.
"Egypt's geographic location is strategic and distinguished and China has relations with the whole world. So, both Egypt and China have the right to cooperate, using the Chinese industrial and investment capabilities and the Egyptian distinguished locations," Sisi added.
"We should work on benefiting from the depth and size of relations between Egypt and China," Sisi told the Chinese reporters, stressing that the Egypt-China cooperation is not meant to be against any other countries.
Egypt supports and encourages China's initiative on building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Sisi told the Chinese official media, adding that it represents a great chance to enhance cooperation between the two countries and that Egypt will have an important role in implementing this initiative.
"Egypt is the portal for the Arab world, for Europe through the Mediterranean Sea and for Africa, and we want the Chinese side to approach Egypt strongly," the president continued. "The Egyptian people are ready to cooperate with the Chinese people for development, progress and peace."
"It has cost us dearly," Sisi said referring to the 2011 and 2013 uprising that led to deteriorating tourism, prevailing chaos and growing terrorist activities.
"But now the course of security and stability is noticeably increasing, so we are going on the right track," Sisi reassured.
In August, President Sisi gave the go-ahead signal for digging a 72-km expansion of the original Suez Canal as a national project to boost the country's economy, ordering "the New Suez Canal" to be open for ship navigation in early August 2015.
The Egyptian president said that the Chinese companies have great chances to invest at the Suez Canal Corridor projects.
"The navigation for trade ships coming from China and southeast Asia will be greatly smoother," Sisi continued. "We are developing projects around the Suez Canal Corridor to provide ships with services like fuel, food, etc. There is a great chance to cooperate with China in these projects."
"Egypt is currently establishing a huge road network of 3,400 km within one year, besides the new Suez Canal project," said Sisi, noting that Egypt is making the necessary procedures to facilitate investment environment to reassure foreign investors.
"We are trying to restore trust of Egyptian, Arab and foreign investors and send them a reassuring message that investment in Egypt is safe and stable and that the state is committed to its obligations with investors," the president explained.
The trade volume between Egypt and China exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars for the first time in 2013.
"The Chinese experience is very fruitful and wonderful. It is not only us but I believe the whole world looks at China with respect and pride," the president added. "You proved to the world that a Chinese person can accomplish what's impossible."
"We invite our brothers in China to come and join us quickly to put our hands together and work together for the best of our two peoples," Sisi said.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Thursday discussed with US President Barack Obama ways of boosting bilateral ties and the ongoing cooperation in various fields, especially in combating terrorism.
During a phone call, Obama hailed Egypt's crucial role in fighting terrorism, noting that the US will continue its support for Egypt to upgrade its ability to counter terror, said presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef.
The two leaders underscored the importance of bolstering mutual strategic relations, the spokesman added.
"Sisi asserted Egypt's full commitment to completing the democratic transition and establishing a modern nation that respects rights and freedoms," Youssef said.
Sisi and Obama also touched on the latest regional developments, namely in Libya, Palestine and Iraq.