CAIRO - The authority of Egypt's Suez Canal area signed Thursday a cooperation protocol between Port Said Harbor and Chinese Qingdao Port, the state-run MENA news agency reported.

Inked by Deputy Head of the Commission Abdel Qader Darwish and chairman of the Chinese port, the protocol aims at boosting cooperation in port operation, exchanging expertise and creating a mechanism for sharing information and technology in the harbor field, according to MENA.

The protocol is an outcome of the recent visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping to Egypt which resulted in signing a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding in many areas to increase the Chinese investments in the Middle Eastern country.

Port Said Harbor is one of the six ports affiliated to the economic commission for the Suez Canal Area.