Egypt committed to strengthening ties with African countries

By Eric Amoh and Bajin Pobia, GNA, Cairo
Cairo (Egypt), May 6, GNA - The Egyptian government on Wednesday stated its intention to improve ties with sister African countries to help accelerate the pace of development on the continent.

Mr Ibrahim Eliraky, the First Deputy Secretary in charge of the General Supervision of African Relations Training, made this known when he addressed Journalists drawn from 22 African countries who are currently undergoing a training programme in Cairo.

The journalists numbering about 44, would undergo a three-week training session in journalism funded by the Egyptian government.

According to the Deputy Secretary, the Egyptian New Constitution laid emphasis on Egypt as an African country, and that the people of Egypt were proud to reaffirm their position as an African country.

He indicated that Egypt took into cognizance its new role in representing Africa in the United Nations Security Council, and that Egypt was more than ready to pursue Africa's interest at all times to ensure that the continent received the necessary attention and recognition.

Mr Eliraky announced that as part of its determination to ensure that Egypt took centre-stage in African affairs, the national parliament had established a new committee on African Affairs charged with the duty to work on human rights related issues in Africa.

He noted that the world was becoming a global hub for Information Communication Technology (ICT) and said Africa could not sit unconcerned without upgrading its human resource base, especially journalists, who by design played a major part in the information distribution chain.

He added that the training programme for journalists was part of Egypt's contribution towards the achievement of this goal.

Mr Eliraky said the New government led by Colonel Abdel Fattah El-Sisi gave priority to Africa and its people, and would ensure the success of the continent by drawing African nations closer to form a formidable front, and through the proper management of available resources.

GNA