By Mohamed Moussa
Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel-Aal on Monday met with the delegation of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, headed by Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, Prime Minister of the Eastern Cape Province, for co-operation talks.
Ambassador Amira Khafaja, First Secretary in the Office of Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended the meeting.
Abdel-Aal said Egypt is proud of its friendship with South Africa.
Egyptian-South African ties date back to 1942 when the first Consulate General of South Africa was opened in Cairo, he added.
The governor added that the friendly relations between the two countries are evident in the close relations between President Abdel Fattah El-Sisiand President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa.
According to Abdel-Aal, there is another link represented by the Cairo-Cape Town Road, which represents a great opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries through a new axis linking North and South Africa, hoping that this road will turn into a development corridor that includes countries it passes through.
The governor reviewedthe most important and prominent features that distinguish the capital as one of the most important historical and heritage cities on the global level and a birthplace of Egypt’s Pharaonic, Christian and Islamic civilisations.
The city of Cairo, which is more than 1,054 years old, is a comprehensive representation of human civilisations and is considered an open museum, A window into cultures.
The Egyptian state, he continued, was keen on modernisation at the same time to develop historic Cairo, preserve it, and revive its heritage. The state also implemented a modern road and transportation network, in addition to developing sea ports and the Suez Canal within the framework of the state’s plan to increase trade exchange and investments.
Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, Premier of the Eastern Cape Province, and his accompanying delegation expressed their admiration for the wise and bold decisions of the Egyptian political leadership to establish new smart cities, noting the visit seeks to learn from Egypt’s experience in building new cities, eliminating unsafe areas, and strengthening Trade and investment between the two countries.
