Egyptian Honorees Share their Feelings at Egyptian Women and Ideal Mothers Ceremony 2023

During the celebration of the Egyptian Women and Ideal Mothers Ceremony 2023, the women, honored by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, expressed their happiness at the honor.

Journalist Nawal Mostafa, one of the honorees, shared: When they told me that I would be honored by President Sisi, I was touched, and my tears were flowing with joy, I’ve won several regional and international awards, but I haven’t been honored on Women’s Day in Egypt until I was invited to today’s celebration.

In turn, Ambassador Naela Gabr said that honoring her today is the utmost encouragement and a message to her grandchildren in the future so that they know that hard work has fruits that are reaped by giving and belonging to the country.

As for Samah Abu Bakr Ezzat, Ambassador for Children’s Affairs in the Presidential Initiative, a decent life, and one of the honorees at the 2023 Egyptian Women’s Celebration, she confirmed that being honored at today’s celebration was a beautiful surprise and gave her the feeling that any work, activity, or work with children is encouraged.

For her part, Horeya Megahed, a professor of political science, expressed her happiness, saying: “It was a day that you don’t forget, and this honor is better than any other honor.

NCW Thanks President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Over Presidential Decrees Supporting Women

The National Council for Women (NCW), Headed by Maya Morsi, has extended thanks to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for decisions taken on Monday to liberate women in Egypt.

In a statement issued by the NCW, Morsi lauded the decrees issued by El-Sisi during a ceremony held on Monday to honor Egyptian women and ideal mothers for 2023.

Such decrees are part of the political leadership’s efforts and policies to empower women, Morsi said, praising Sisi’s decision to release indebted women and men from correctional and rehabilitation centers of the Interior Ministry ahead of the month of Ramadan to be able to be reunited with their families during this holy occasion.

In support of the Egyptian women, President El-Sisi issued several directives, instructing the government to do the following:

– To promote women’s representation on the boards of directors of governmental bodies, business sector companies, and their subsidiaries.

– To expand training programs in the technology and digitization domains to increase opportunities for women’s empowerment and participation in future jobs.

– To support digital savings and loan packages in the national project for the development of the Egyptian family and other development programs via building women’s capacities

– To implement small green projects and sustainable income-generating activities (IGAs).

Presidential Decree Transferring Ownership of MIHC to Sovereign Fund of Egypt

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued presidential decree no. 102 of 2023 transferring 100% of the ownership of the shares of the Misr Insurance Holding Company (MIHC) to Sovereign Fund of Egypt for investment and development, according to the “State Information Services” website.

The decree will be published in the official Gazette.

 

PM: Egyptian Gov’t Keen on Promoting Competition Among Public Servants

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly confirmed that the “Egypt’s Government Excellence” Award reflects the Egyptian State’s commitment to promoting competition among employees at government institutions and encouraging innovation, according to the “State Information Services” website.

The award also demonstrates the State’s commitment to helping employees translate their innovative ideas into real projects, Madbouly added in his remarks to the ceremony of the 3rd edition of  the “Egypt Government Excellence” Award, which kicked off on Tuesday 14 March 2023 under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

He noted that the award goal is linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 16 about promoting just, peaceful, and inclusive societies.

Madbouly applauded the performance of the award organizers, as well as their efforts to improve it and introduce new categories and promote a culture of excellence at government institutions.

Quseir: President El-Sisi Made Great Efforts to Upgrade Agriculture Sector

Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation El Sayyed El Quseir asserted Wednesday that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi paid great attention to the agriculture sector.

Given that the country has adopted mechanisms and projects that contributed to boosting the production of agricultural crops, especially strategic crops, to establish sustainable agricultural and food systems, added Quseir in an address to the inauguration of the nitrogen fertilizer complex in Ain Sokhna in the presence of President Sisi.

The minister added establishing agricultural and food systems has become a pressing challenge facing developing and developed countries.

According to him, the food gap problem is not only an economic and agricultural issue, but it has also become a strategic and political issue that threatens national and regional security.

That shows the dire need to double efforts to achieve food security for people, Quseir said, adding the Egyptian state has adopted a specific strategy for attaining sustainable agricultural development.

Quseir said the world has faced serious challenges and crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and the negative impacts of climate change.

These challenges have negatively affected supply chains, decreased production of crops, and caused a hike in prices and shortage of production supplies, particularly fertilizers, added Quseir.

The minister said the Egyptian state has been affected by these world challenges like all countries worldwide.

The Egyptian state was capable of providing safe, healthy, and sustainable food to its people thanks to agricultural development and the wise vision of the political leadership to implement projects.

President El-Sisi Receives Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received on Tuesday, March 14, a high-level Italian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Antonio Tajani.

 

The delegation included Minister of University and Research Ms. Anna Maria Bernini, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia, and several Italian officials of major companies working in several fields, particularly agriculture, land reclamation, and food industries, as well as the Italian ambassador in Cairo.

 

From the Egyptian side, the meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Minister for International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Mr. El-Sayyed El-Quseir.

 

The Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Ahmed Fahmy, said Mr. Tajani’s visit to Cairo, heading an expanded trade mission from major Italian companies, comes within Egypt’s long-standing friendly relations with Italy, and the strong political will of both sides to develop and advance these relations to serve the interests of the two friendly peoples.

 

President El-Sisi affirmed that Egypt welcomes the Italian officials and companies, which have a record of fruitful work in Egypt.

 

The President noted the broad prospects for economic cooperation at all levels, which was valued by the Italian side, pointing out that this visit comes to activate the strategic partnership between the two countries and lay the foundation for further economic cooperation by strengthening the presence of Italian companies in Egypt, particularly, in the fields of agriculture and food.

 

 This is in light of the vital importance of working to achieve food security during the current phase, in which the world suffers from successive crises in this regard. 

 

The meeting also touched on many topics regarding bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. The issue of illegal migration and efforts to cooperate in the field of energy was also discussed. The two sides agreed to continue working on these areas in the coming period to maximize the utilization of the two countries’ great potential and continue coordination to face the growing international political and economic challenges.

Egypt, Hungary Reaches Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received on Tuesday Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, during his three-day visit to Egypt to discuss bilateral cooperation. After the bilateral talks, a joint declaration was made on the strategic partnership between the two countries, reflecting the depth of excellence they have reached during the recent period, according to the spokesperson of the presidency, Ahmed Fahmy.

Fahmy added that the two leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of several memoranda of understanding between Egypt and Hungary in the sectors of education and training in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, youth, and sports, increasing the number of undergraduate and post-university scholarships for the years 2023/2026, and the Hungarian Scholarship Program “Stipendium” for the years 2023/2026.

Then, the two leaders held a joint press conference in which El-Sisi welcomed his Hungarian guest, stressing the importance of the visit, which reflects the strength and depth of relations between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations between them in 1928.

“The discussions with the Hungarian Prime Minister focused on further strengthening bilateral economic relations between the two countries, as we agreed on the great benefit that Hungarian investors will accrue from investing in Egypt, especially in the Suez Canal economic zone,” stated El-Sisi.

El-Sisi and Orban also stressed the importance of strengthening the Egyptian- Hungarian ties, as well as exchanging experiences in agriculture, water management, and irrigation, examining ways of cooperation to mitigate the global food and energy crises, and working to increase the number of tourists between the two countries.

They discussed importing 1,350 railway cars from Hungary within the agreed time frames, and we touched on the need to discuss ways of cooperation to localize the railway car industry in Egypt.

El-Sisi pointed out that the discussions also dealt with the importance of continuing to work on strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in the fields of transport, trade, industry, energy, tourism, agriculture, irrigation, and water management, as well as in the fields of culture and education.

During the talks, they exchanged views regarding the international and regional crises, especially in the Middle East and Europe, “where there is a great convergence in the views between the two countries in this regard, in terms of the need to reach a peaceful settlement to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, as soon as possible.”

Sisi Poses for Photo Op with Mothers of Martyrs

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi posed for a photo op with three mothers of martyrs at the 37th cultural seminar of the Armed Forces that was held on Thursday at Al Manara International Conference Center within the framework of a ceremony marking the Martyr’s Day, according to “State Information Service” website.

The president praised the great sacrifices of martyrs, reiterating that Egypt currently enjoys peace and security thanks to the sacrifices of martyrs.

Sisi had a friendly conversation with the martyrs’ mothers who expressed happiness for meeting the president.

Sisi stressed that he is proud of the sacrifices made by the martyrs nine years ago.

President Sisi keen on finalizing ‘Decent Life’ projects: Local development min

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is keen on finalizing the first stage of projects of the presidential initiative “Decent Life” to achieve the aspirations of the Egyptian people, affirmed Local Development Minister Hisham Amna.

The minister made the remarks during his meeting on Monday19/12/2022 with UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova in the presence of a host of senior officials.

At the beginning of the meeting, Amna welcomed Panova’s visit to the ministry’s premises, lauding the level of cooperation and partnership between Egypt and the UN.

The ministry is keen on cooperation with the UN offices operating in Egypt, he added.

He also pointed out to the ministry’s cooperation with the World Food Organization (WFO) through Egypt Hands digital platform, which was launched to support women and youth and provide jobs in traditional handicraft sphere nationwide.

The minister, meanwhile, welcomed the UN’s support to this important project for women and youth in the governorates.

Talking about the “Decent Life” presidential initiative, the minister said that it was launched by President Sisi and aims to provide a decent life for the most vulnerable groups nationwide.

The minister also said that he will exert all the necessary efforts in cooperation with the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and Housing Minister Assem el Gazzar in order to prepare for the upcoming session of the World Urban Forum.

Panova, for her part, said that she is delighted to visit the villages, which are part of “Decent Life” initiative.

She further said that the strategic partnership framework between Egypt and the UN for 2023-2027 will be signed soon.

This strategic partnership will include several projects and initiatives between the Egyptian government and the various UN bodies, she added.

Commenting on the “Decent Life” presidential initiative, Panova said that all the necessary support will be presented to such pioneering initiative.

Panova also lauded the outstanding success of the World Cities Day, which was held in Luxor and organized by the Local Development Ministry.

Sisi to US-Africa Summit: Food, water security are closely linked, considered national security for Egypt

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi asserted that there is a close link between the food and water security, noting that Egypt viewed them as an issue of national security, in a way that necessitates the availability of a political will to formulate a legal framework for managing the track of cooperation among the countries which share the water resources in order to achieve development without inflicting any harm.

Addressing a leaders’ session held on the fringe of the US-African Leaders Summit under the title of “Promoting Food Security and Food Systems Resilience”, Sisi pressed the need for taking into consideration the impact of international crises on the economies of our countries especially regarding foreign debt, a matter which imposes outlining mechanisms for alleviating the debts’ burden whether through exemption, exchange or soft repayment.

Sisi said “over the past few days during the proceedings of the UN Climate Summit, discussions covered one of the most serious challenges facing us, and today we meet to probe another important issue which is the food security.”

If the efforts exerted during the UN Summit succeeded in working out tangible outcome, but unfortunately our efforts failed to bear fruit to end hunger in the world, Sisi said, noting that the international reports pointed out to a rise in the hunger rates over the past three years after it has been maintained since 2015.

Sisi noted that international statistics estimated the rise of the number of people who suffer from food insecurity to 800 million people in 2022, with an increase of 150 million in the records of 2019, adding that more than a third of such figures are from Africa.

Sisi reviewed Egypt’s vision to enhance food security in Africa, asserting the importance of intensifying agricultural investments directed to Africa in order to develop its production and storage capacities via introducing modern technologies with easy terms.

The Egyptian president also reiterated the necessity for maintaining an openness to the international trade movement, noting that the African Free Trade Agreement provided a framework that could enhance integration among the countries of the continent. He also voiced hope that major countries could extend help to Africa to optimize its potentials via investment in infrastructure and agricultural projects.

As regards the outcome of the UN Climate Summit, hosted by Egypt in early November, Sisi said Egypt launched several initiatives in the climate adaption funding including the Cairo Center for Learning and Excellence on Adaptation and Resilience, announced by Egypt, to build adaptation capacity across Africa, as well as an initiative on food and agriculture for sustainable transition in cooperation with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Sisi also said that the UN Climate Summit has drawn a special attention to the commitment of the developed countries to provide dlrs100 billion annually to counter the climate change, noting that the conference has succeeded for the first time to establish a special fund for the developing countries to compensate the losses and damage caused by climate change and voiced hope for activating the fund’s structure as soon as possible.

Sisi also asserted that the African states outlined several promising initiatives in contribution to international efforts to settle the food crisis, pointing out to the African Development Bank (AfDB)’s allocating dlrs 1.5 billion to support the purchase of strategic commodities, the launching of the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) initiative for food security in the most vulnerable countries. The initiative is implemented in cooperation between the African Union and France.

He also mentioned that the African countries should use the innovative Africa Exchange Trade Platform (ATEX) and boost digital trade in critical commodities under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

ATEX is a digital business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) exchange platform developed by ECA and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat.

Sisi also voiced Egypt’s readiness to share its expertise with the African countries as regards Egypt’s measures to enhance its food security, citing the initiative of cultivating the 1.5 million feddans to increase the agricultural farmlands and the silos national project which doubles the grains’s storage capacity in Egypt.

The Egyptian president also highlighted measures to rationalize the use of water, the 2050 plan to develop the State’s potentials to desalinate water, noting that Egypt is among the biggest states which are conducting water treatment processes.

Sisi expressed his appreciation to US President Joe Biden for his good hospitability and the organization of this great event (the US-African Leaders Summit) which comes at a very exceptional timing the world is facing.

He said eight years have passed since the first edition of the US-African Summit and during this period, there has been various changes and challenges that renewed the resolve for developing partnership between Africa and the US in a way that could help in finding solutions to ease the burdens on our peoples and secure a better future for them.

Sisi also praised the invitation of Biden on holding such summit which expressed his deep interest in listening to the voice of Africa.

The Egyptian president also called on the US to invest its economic weight in Africa to enhance the response mechanisms for the food crisis especially as part of the Global Alliance for Food Security in the G7 and the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance in the UN Secretariat.

He also asked the US to invest its economic weight in alleviating the burdens of debt on the most afflicted countries, noting that the debt rate has reached serious levels exceeding 250 percent of their revenues, a matter which required taking urgent measures and exempting these countries from parts of their debts as well as activating the G20 initiative to suspend debts and formulate mechanisms to exchange the debts for investments.

Sisi also held the international funding institutions responsible for facilitating developing countries to obtain sustainable funding and ease the loans’ terms to comply with the nature of their economies, outlining emergency mechanisms to propel growth and create a social security network to maintain the social fabric of these countries.

He also reiterated the need to work out mechanisms to facilitate the availability of commodities in order to reduce prices.

The Egyptian president wrapped up his speech by vocing hope that this summit would adopt a vision and translate it into applicable initiatives to respond to the aspirations of the African peoples and enhance ties between the US and the African continent.