President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with Chinese vice premier Liu Yandong on Sunday morning to discuss bilateral relations, including cultural and scientific fields, in which education affairs was the most prominent issue, according to presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Higher Education Ashraf Shehay, the Chinese ambassador to Egypt, and other high-ranking Chinese officials attended the meeting.
Yandong will meet with a group of young Egyptian scholars on Monday in the presence of the Egyptian-Chinese National Institute for Renewable Energy. She will also attend several agreement and memoranda of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the fields of higher education, scientific research, and scholarships to advance cultural exchange between Egypt and China.
The vice premier suggested forming a joint committee for science and technology, based in China. She reaffirmed that China will offer at least 1,500 educational scholarships to Egyptian students to study in China within the next five years.
Yandong’s visit to Egypt is intended to follow up on the results of the Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit in January 2016, which marked the first visit of a Chinese president to Egypt in 12 years.
Both Al-Sisi and Jinping were satisfied with the renewed bilateral relations, agreeing on the necessity of continuing their visits to each other’s countries and discussions on issues in various fields, which will enhance and strengthen their relations.
During the meeting, Al-Sisi confirmed the importance of China’s role in developing Egyptian education and culture fields, also highlighting that education can have a forceful impact on confronting terrorism and protecting society from negative behaviours and perspectives, according to Yandong.
As for tourism, Yondog said that 120 million Chinese tourists visit Egypt annually and this rate is expected to increase to 600 million tourists in the upcoming years. She explained that Chinese people consider Egypt an attractive and unique place to visit. In response, Al-Sisi said that all Chinese people coming to Egypt, whether for tourism or work, are welcome and promised that the highest standards of security and comfort would be offered to them.
The president concluded by thanking the Chinese delegation for the scholarship which will be offered to Egyptian students. He affirmed Egypt’s aspiration for the success of a cultural event to be held throughout 2016 celebrating the occasion of 60 years of strong diplomatic relations between the two countries.
