Egypt attaches great importance to Africa: Higher education minster

CAIRO, May 8 (MENA) - Egypt attaches great importance to Africa due to its strategic significance, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said Wednesday.

He added the government spares no efforts to provide all means of support to Senghor University to expand its educational activities to serve the interests of the youth of Africa and member states of the International Organisation of the Francophonie.

The minister made his remarks during the graduation ceremony of the 16th batch the university students in the presence of University President Hany Helal.

The ministry has allocated new plots to establish a new premises of the university in Alexandria, Abdel Ghaffar said, adding that it also plans to build a hostel for the university students, a thing which demonstrates Egypt's genuine care for African brethren as well as its commitment to achieving the African Union's Agenda for 2036.

Shedding light on the university's history ever since it was established under Presidential Decree No. 2727/1989, Helal said that this higher education institution seeks to qualify African cadres to help them take the lead in the development process in their African French-speaking countries.

Abdel Ghaffar underscored the great potentials of the continent's young people, highlighting Egypt's assiduous efforts, during its current presidency of the African bloc, to restore its leading role in Africa.

Established in 1989 by virtue of an agreement with the Egyptian government, the French-language International University in the Service of African Development "Senghor University" was opened in October 1990. It has its headquarters in the Mediterranean seaport city of Alexandria. The university provides study opportunities to French-speaking professors and students concerned with issues affecting the African continent.