Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel Aal met on Monday with a delegation from Eastern Cape province, South Africa, headed by the Premier of Eastern Cape province, Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, at the Cairo governorate headquarters to enhance bilateral relations and promote cooperation and partnership in all fields in the presence of the First Secretary of the Office of Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for African Affairs Amira Khafaga.
During the meeting, Abdel Aal said that Egypt appreciates and cherishes its friendship with South Africa and its people, asserting the strong and historical brotherhood and friendship bonds between Egypt and South Africa dating back to 1942 since the opening of the first Consulate General of South Africa in Cairo.
Abdel Aal also emphasized that friendship ties between the two countries extend to the present day, which is evident in close relations between the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in addition to mutual trust, understanding, cooperation, consultation, and agreement on various continent’s matters of common interest.
Abdel Aal added that it is not only friendship and brotherhood ties that bind the two countries but also the Cairo- Cape Town Road, representing a great chance to strengthen relations through a new axis linking North and South Africa, hoping that this road will turn into a development corridor.
Moreover, the governor reviewed with the delegation the most important and prominent features distinguishing Cairo, the Capital of Egypt, as one of the world’s most historical and heritage cities, given it is the cradle of Egypt's Pharaonic, Christian, and Islamic civilizations throughout history. He added that Cairo, which is over 1054 years old, is a comprehensive representation of a combination of different human civilizations and is an open museum to various cultures.
Abdel Aal furthermore stressed the Egyptian state under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is keen to provide citizens with a decent life, improve the quality of their living conditions, achieve sustainable development nationwide, and eradicate informal settlements and unsafe areas, and provide integrated service modern cities in line with Egypt's Vision 2030.
Abdel Aal added that Cairo has implemented many national, development, and service projects and that the Egyptian state made great efforts to build modern and smart cities across Egypt, the most important of which t is the New Administrative Capital project, which will contribute to easing traffic congestion in the capital.
The governor also said that the state seeks to develop and expand its local industries and provide all necessary services to investors to create a better investment climate.
For his part, the Premier of Eastern Cape province, Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, and his accompanying delegation expressed their admiration for the wise and bold decisions taken by the political leadership to establish smart cities, adding that they are accompanied by a presidential delegation to learn about Egypt’s experiment in building cities, eradicating unsafe areas, enhancing trade relations between the two countries, benefiting from Egypt’s expertise in water desalination, and exchanging experiences in the fields of agriculture and manufacturing.
Source: Media Department, Cairo Governorate
