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Algeria is Sisi's 'only gate into Africa', says expert

June 26, 2014 at 3:03 pm

Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi’s foreign outreach started in Algeria because it is “his only gate into Africa”, an Algerian expert said.

According to Algerian political scientist Tawfik Boukaida, Egypt seeks to “bypass the international embargo it’s facing, by visiting Algeria, due to its role and status in the African continent.” He added that Al-Sisi’s visit to Algeria aims at gaining African support prior to his scheduled trip to Equatorial Guinea to attend the African Summit.

“Egypt is seeking to exploit its rapprochement with Algeria to counter terrorism, in a bid to justify its actions against the Muslim Brotherhood, hoping that Algeria will understand the Egyptian position and market it internationally,” Boukaida told Anadolu.

He also pointed to the economic goals of the visit: “Cairo is going through an economic crisis and is seeking to receive loans from Algeria to support the Egyptian economy and obtain a greater portion of Algerian gas to alleviate the gas crisis in Egypt at preferential prices.”

He stressed that the Libyan “security chaos” threatens the national security of both countries, and therefore requires cooperation between them to stave off this threat.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi visited Algeria yesterday in a brief trip that lasted only a few hours. The visit was his first foreign trip since his inauguration on June 8. He then flew to Equatorial Guinea to attend the African Summit during which he is scheduled to deliver a speech today, the state-owned MENA reported.