Ashraf AboArafe
Continuing his meetings on the sidelines of his visit to the Chinese capital, Beijing, Dr. Badr Abdel Aati, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, met on Friday, December 13, with Mr. Qian Rong, CEO of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
The Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to the strategic partnership relations with China, which is one of Egypt’s most prominent development and trade partners, praising the Chinese company’s projects in the Egyptian market, most notably the LRT project, which is being implemented in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Transport.
It is also considered one of the most prominent fruits of strategic cooperation between the two countries, and one of the main pillars of the Ministry of Transport’s strategy to provide an advanced and modern transportation system, in continuation of the great renaissance witnessed by the transportation sector in Egypt.
In a related context, Minister Abdel Aati noted the readiness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the relevant ministries and national bodies, to provide all facilities that would accelerate the implementation of the third phase of the light rail project, which is a priority for the political leadership in Egypt within the framework of the comprehensive strategic relations between the two friendly countries. He expressed his aspiration to expand the scope of cooperation with the Chinese company in the field of infrastructure, as well as to launch frameworks for tripartite cooperation in Africa in this important field. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also appreciated the efforts made by the Chinese company to provide vocational training programs in China for three batches of Egyptian trainees in the fields of driving and maintaining the light rail, in cooperation with the “Nanning Railway Training Institute”, and expressed the Egyptian side’s aspiration to increase the frequency of holding these training courses that aim to qualify workers in the railway sector in Egypt, in light of the interest given by the political leadership to developing the vocational education system.
