A team from the Coordination Office of the UAE-Funded Development Projects in Egypt has inspected progress of projects in Egypt's governorates of Giza and Cairo.
President of Al-Azhar University, Abdul Hayy Azab, Chairman of the board of Egyptian vaccine maker Vacsera, Nabil el-Beblawy, and representatives of media organisations took part in the tour to two UAE-funded projects: four buildings which will provide 81 accommodation units for Al Azhar students at Nasr City and a vaccine and sera production facility at Vacsera that will boost Egypt's self-efficiency, create more jobs and preserve the quality of domestic production.
Other UAE-funded educational projects in Egypt include an advanced health information system for Al Azhar University hospitals, the Islamic Studies Institute in New Cairo that will accommodate some 1500 students, and the Sheikh Zayed Arabic Language Institute which accommodates more than 1200 students from 102 countries.
In his remarks during the tour, Azab thanked the leaders and people of the UAE for their unwavering support for Al Azhar.
He said, "It is not unusual for the sons of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to walk in his steps and back Al Azhar and its mission. They appreciate the varsity's role as a cultural and scientific lighthouse against extremist ideology." The student accommodation project which started in September 2013 is now 51 per cent completed.
Other UAE-funded educational and cultural projects for Al Azhar University include a library which will house some 50000 manuscripts and documents.
The overhaul of Vacsera's vaccine and sera production facility is now 80 per cent complete, el-Beblawy noted adding that Egypt now imports 74 per cent of insulin, with local companies meeting 26 percent and Vacsera 9 per cent of the country's demand.
The UAE-funded development projects in Egypt include 87 family medicine centres in 32 governorates to serve more than 780,000 citizens, and 151 sewage treatment stations which will serve some 1,7 million citizens in remote villages.
Source: WAM