Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar visited Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Saturday.
The visit took place on the sidelines of the World Health Summit in Berlin.
At the outset of the visit, Abdel Ghaffar praised the institute’s longstanding and pivotal role as Germany’s national public health reference institution. He reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to building sustainable institutional partnerships with leading international institutes to boost healthcare infrastructure, enhance disease surveillance systems and improve emergency preparedness and response.
The two sides discussed ways to strengthen co-operation in health security and epidemic surveillance.
Discussions during the meeting focused on improving public health intelligence, early warning systems, digital and event-based surveillance, and strengthening public health laboratory capabilities in molecular diagnostics and the genomic sequencing of emerging pathogens.
They also covered the exchange of expertise in crisis management, outbreak preparedness and the organisation of joint simulation exercises.
The two sides also discussed investing in human resources through a comprehensive programme for exchanging experts and scientists.
Abdel Ghaffar highlighted Egypt’s strategic geographical position, saying it could serve as a promising regional hub for hosting joint training activities and events benefiting countries across Africa and the Middle East.
