Egypt needs Chinese assistance to develop in varied sectors, cites Egyptian translator

The renowned Egyptian translator and chief of Cairo-based Chinese ‘Wisdom House for Cultural Industries’, Ahmad al-Saeed has praised the expansion of Chinese in Egypt. He emphasized on the mutual cooperation between two nations calling it ‘very promising’ mainly in the light of the Belt and Road Initiative.’

The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which aim at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road, as exclusively reported by Xinhua.

He mentioned the increasing number of the students learning the Chinese language in Egypt, currently about 10,000, the spread of the Chinese book translation houses and the establishment of more think-tanks in the Egyptian universities as good examples of the growing Chinese role in Egypt.

On January 13, Renmin University of China and Egypt's Ain Shams University inaugurated the Belt and Road Cooperation Research Center in Cairo. Al-Saeed, who is also working as coordinator in the center, said that the harmony between the two universities was important for establishing the center, noting the dire need for the two countries' people to know more about each other.

“Most of the Egyptians have little information about the Belt and Road Initiative and such research centers will help a lot,” he emphasized. He further added that the center will work as a consultative body like ‘bank of ideas,’ that will provide information for governmental institutions and large investing companies. The research center will also present a model for cooperation between China and the other countries concerning the Belt and Road, he said.

“Egypt needs Chinese advanced equipment and coordination with China in the construction of the smart villages, and both sides could benefit from the vast desert areas in Egypt,” he further added.