Ashraf AboArafe
Within the framework of Russia’s preparations to organize the Russia-Africa Forum next July in Petersburg, the Russian Embassy in Cairo organized the Egyptian-Russian Media Forum a symposium entitled “The status of the Egyptian and African media on the international arena in light of the current changes and their role in Russian-African relations” in the seminar hall of the Russian House in Cairo, moderated by Dr. Anna Belikova, director of public relations at RT channel, in the presence of the Russian ambassador, “Georgi Borisenko”, and the ambassador, “Ahmed Abu Zaid”, the official spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the journalist, “Saleh Al-Salihi”, deputy head of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, and Ambassador “Ezzat Saad”, director of the Egyptian Council External Relations, and “Dr. Muhammad al-Yami, Director General of the News Agency Union in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Emad El-Din Hussein, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Shorouk newspaper, Sherif Gad, President of the Egyptian Society for Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities, Mr. Hany, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Republic, and Dr. Ahmed Taher, Director of the Cairo Center for Political Affairs and Research, and Dr. Nourhan Al-Sheikh, a professor at Cairo University and an expert on Russian affairs.
Where the Russian ambassador opened the forum, greeting the participants and conveying Moscow’s invitation to His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to participate in the Russia-Africa Forum next July in Petersburg.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid also spoke about the good relationship between the two countries and the continuation of celebrations in Egypt and Russia marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The participation of “Maria Zakharova,” the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who confirmed that Moscow is awaiting the results of the Cairo Forum, due to its importance, also came via Zoom.
The participants had discussed several ideas and initiatives related to the importance of establishing independent African media platforms, as well as establishing media cooperation between Russia and Africa in order to avoid the need to receive information from third parties, which is often subject to political whims.
In his speech on behalf of the graduates, Sharif Jad talked about the importance of quick reaction from the Russian and African side and finding a common media language away from the domination of the West and America that distort the facts.
Jad also expressed interest in the One-Africa platform, which was founded by the Senegalese “Al-Husseini Ba”, and asked the Russian media in Cairo to facilitate the task of communication between Egyptian journalists and media with political figures and cultural symbols in Russia.
