Secretary General of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) Hazem Fahmi stressed that the African people highly admire the Egyptian people and leadership and consider Egypt an example of a large country fighting terrorism, struggling for development while at the same time working for fostering relations with African brothers.

The way the African peoples reacted to the activities of the agency reflects their deep appreciation for President Abdel Fattah El Sisi who brought Egypt once again to the African continent, Fahmi said in statements to MENA.

The Egyptian partnership with Africa, now in its third year, reflects Egypt's keenness on helping African nations achieve the goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda that was approved by the UN development summit in 2015, especially with regard to poverty, hunger, health, education, women empowerment and economic growth, he said.

He noted that President Sisi announced the establishment of the EAPD at the 23rd African Union Summit in June 2014 with the aim of supporting Africa’s development aspirations through the provision of capacity-building assistance; the transfer of knowledge, skills and expertise; and the promotion of creative industries. 

Now, the agency works for forging three-way cooperation partnerships involving donors, international organizations outside Africa and major international business institutions, he said, adding that Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is an important partner of the agency in Africa.

The agency hopes to expand partnerships with other international institutions to better serve Africa, he said.

The EAPD was formally launched on the fist of July 2014 through the merger of the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa (EFTCA) and the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with the Commonwealth States (EFTCC). 

Talking about the activities of the agency since it was established, Fahmi said the agency organizes building-capacity courses for Africans and contributes to the establishment of hospitals, medical and vocational centers in a number of African countries, including setting up a makeshift medical clinic in remote areas of Kenya, supplying the heart center in Ethiopia with the latest equipment, sending medical convoys and financing health conferences.

He said the agency signed a memo of understanding with heart surgeon Dr Magdi Yacoub to train African doctors at his Heart Foundation and treat for free some African heart patients.

Within the legal cooperation, the agency organized the conference of the heads of African supreme constitutional courts in February in which 25 African nations took part to address challenges facing the judicial system in African countries as well as laws for combating terrorism, illegal immigration, trafficking and smuggling.

At the end, he said the agency was keen since it was established to build on what was achieved by its predecessor, the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa (EFTCA), but with taking into consideration the priorities of the Egyptian foreign policy and national security and the needs of the African peoples.

Source: MENA