Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar asserted, on Friday, the importance of supporting scientific and cultural cooperation between Egypt and France.
Abdel Ghaffar said that this bilateral cooperation would take place through joint scientific research and increasing student exchange.
The minister’s remarks came during his visit to the French capital, Paris, on 19-22 May, in which he met with his French counterpart Frédérique Vidal.
Abdel Ghaffar pointed to the need to benefit from French experience in the fields of higher education and scientific research. He called for more cooperation between both countries, especially in the educational, scientific, and cultural fields.
The two sides discussed a number of issues, including the founding of the Egyptian House in the University City of Paris.
The house will be a residential building for students, researchers, and athletes, and will consist of 195 rooms and halls for cultural activities. About 70% of the building will be opened to Egyptians, with the remaining 30% to be allocated for foreigners.
The two ministers also discussed Egypt’s contribution to restructuring the French University in Cairo, granting land to for the new building, and increasing the number of scientific disciplines at the university.
The meeting additionally dealt with facilitating and unifying procedures for equivalency degrees between the two countries. This included highlighting the importance of French participation in training technicians and researchers in the fields of space technology sciences that will qualify Egypt to build and launch satellites.
Moreover, Vidal noted the importance of continuing the existing cooperation with many Egyptian universities. He stressed that the coming period will witness intensive efforts to deepen relations between both countries.
