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ASWAN, Egypt, March 17-- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday urged African Union (AU) Commissioner Moussa Faki to step up efforts to prevent conflicts and accelerate development in the African continent. Sisi, who assumed the chairmanship of the AU in February, made the comments during his meeting with Faki on the sidelines of the ongoing Arab-African Youth Platform in Egypt's Aswan Province, according to a statement by Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi. The Egyptian president expressed his country's keenness to continue cooperation and close coordination with the AU Commission to push forward the joint African work in various fields during the Egyptian presidency of the AU. During the meeting, Sisi stressed the importance of exerting efforts to achieve tangible progress in areas of high priority, especially economic and regional integration, peace and security, institutional reform of the AU as well as cooperation with international partners. He also stressed the need to intensify AU's efforts to prevent conflicts and activate the policy for the reconstruction and development in the post-conflict period. These efforts should be exerted within the framework of a comprehensive approach based on development strategies aiming to address the roots of conflicts, Sisi said. For his part, Faki stressed the Egypt's weight in Africa, as it is one of the countries that helped lay the foundation of the principles of the Organisation of African Unity, the first pillar of African joint action. | 
