Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao in Cairo Friday morning met with the speakers of the Egyptian People's Assembly and the Egyptian Advisory Council and exchanged views with them on the Sino-Egyptian friendship.  

In his meetings with Ahmed Fathi Sorour, speaker of the People's Assembly and Mustapha Kamal Helmi, speaker of the Advisory Council, Hu said both China and Egypt are countries with brilliant ancient civilization and the two countries had similar experiences in their fight for national independence.

Hu noted that the two nations have forged profound friendship in their struggles for independence and for safeguarding sovereignty.

Both countries now face a historic mission of developing their economies and safeguarding the interests of the developing countries, and China is willing to work with Egypt to consolidate and deepen the strategic cooperation between the two countries for the benefit of the two peoples, said the Chinese president.

Hu said that the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have maintained friendly exchanges with the Egyptian People's Assembly and the Egyptian Advisory Council and the good relationship has promoted the cooperation between the two countries.

The Chinese president hoped that the two sides will keep and strengthen the momentum of the friendly exchanges, promote understanding, deepen friendship and broaden cooperation.

Sorour highly appreciated China's rapid development and its positive role in international affairs. He pledged that the People's Assembly will, as always, further promote the exchanges with the NPC and boost the Sino-Egyptian friendship.

Helmi said that the Egyptian people are delighted to see the enormous achievements of the brotherly Chinese people in the modernization drive and they are ready to learn from China's experience in development.

He also hoped that the two sides will broaden the fields of economic cooperation and trade.

At noon, President Hu and his wife attended a family banquet at the invitation of Egyptian President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak and his wife.

Hu arrived in the Egyptian capital from France on Thursday for a four-day state visit. Egypt is the second leg of Hu's four-nation tour, which will also take him to Gabon and Algeria.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2004)