Middle Eastern nation eyes the revival of its economic fortune

CAIRO - The Belt and Road Initiative will "open up huge opportunities" for deals between Egypt and China in terms of mutual trade and investment, a leading researcher and authority at a Cairo-based institute said. "The philosophy of the initiative is based on the concept of development as well as trade," said Mohamed Fayez Farahat, head of the Asian Studies program at the state-run Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims at reviving ancient land and sea trade routes that link China with many countries in Asia, African and Europe via trade and infrastructure networks.