By Mohamed Moussa and Ayman Roshdy
Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber has welcomed a high-level delegation from the Chinese city of Shenzhen, led by Mayor Qin Weizhong, during an official meeting at the Cairo Governorate headquarters.
The visit explored avenues of co-operation between the two cities across various sectors, including trade, investment, education, culture, energy, and environmental sustainability.
Governor Saber emphasised the historical ties between Egypt and China, two nations with ancient civilisations.
He also highlighted the strong bond between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, noting that the visit marks a significant step toward strengthening local co-operation between Cairo and Shenzhen. He pointed out that Cairo maintains sister-city agreements with several Chinese cities to facilitate mutual collaboration and knowledge exchange.
The meeting featured discussions on investment policies and available opportunities for collaboration in technology, green economy, renewable energy, and smart city development.
Both sides presented their respective governmental initiatives that support innovation and industrial development, and explored mechanisms for exchanging expertise and highly skilled professionals, as well as promoting educational and cultural exchange between the two cities.
For his part, Mayor Qin Weizhong underscored the growing strength of Chinese-Egyptian relations, particularly in digital economy and advanced industries.
He shared Shenzhen’s remarkable transformation since its designation as a Special Economic Zone in 1980—from a small town to a global economic and technological powerhouse, now home to tech giants like Huawei, BYD, Tencent, and DJI, and accounting for nearly 10 per cent of China’s foreign trade volume.
Both parties emphasised the importance of formalising future cooperation through a sister-city agreement between Cairo and Shenzhen. The proposed agreement would encompass joint development and investment projects in smart infrastructure, clean energy, industrial innovation, and entrepreneurship. It would also launch student and expert exchange programmes, as well as cultural events aimed at deepening ties between the peoples of both cities.
