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Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan received the newly appointed Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Armenia, Amal Afifi.
According to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, the meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister Artur Martirosyan, President of the Egyptian University and Professor of Armenian Studies Mohamed Refaat Al-Imam, as well as Egyptian writer, novelist, television presenter and academic Dr. Safaa El-Naggar.
Minister Andreasyan congratulated Ambassador Afifi on her appointment and wished her a successful diplomatic mission. She expressed confidence that the ambassador’s work would contribute to the further development of Armenia-Egypt interstate relations and the implementation of new initiatives, particularly in the fields of education, science, culture and youth.
Ambassador Afifi thanked the minister for the reception and expressed her readiness to make every effort to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in the cultural sphere. In this context, she presented the programme of events planned to be held in Egypt in the near future.
Andreasyan also highlighted the activities of the Egyptian intellectuals accompanying the delegation, describing stronger ties with them as an important opportunity to deepen friendship between the two peoples. In this regard, she highly praised Professor Mohamed Refaat Al-Imam’s longstanding contribution to Armenian studies and to the research and promotion of the history of Armenia and the Armenian community in Egypt, noting that his scholarly work has made an important contribution to strengthening the cultural dialogue between Armenia and Egypt.
For many years, Mohamed Refaat Al-Imam has supported the activities of the Centre for Armenian Studies at Cairo University and served as editor-in-chief of the Arabic-language Armenian studies journal AREG, which has played a significant role in promoting knowledge about Armenians among Arabic-speaking readers.
Writer, novelist, Egyptian television presenter and academic Dr. Safaa El-Naggar also presented her work.
The sides noted that they could also cooperate within the framework of the International Book Festival through the implementation of translation programmes.
The meeting also addressed other issues of mutual interest.