Sisi hails ties with UAE after receiving Abu Dhabi CP in South Sinai

CAIRO – 17 January 2020: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday hailed the deep relations between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as he, along with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed attended the opening of the camel racing festival in Egypt’s South Sinai.

The festival held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh was attended by tribal leaders and locals who have raised posters to welcome both leaders, and witnessed the participation of 52 camels from Egypt, which will run for four kilometers during the race, according to previous data. It is set to last until Sunday.

"Today, I have been honored to launch, along with my brother, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Sharm El Sheikh heritage festival, which confirms the depth of the bonds of friendship and lasting love that unite the Egyptian and Emirati people."

Sisi and Mohamed bin Zayed also, together, attended the opening of the Berenice military base in the Red Sea governorate, the largest in the region.











Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates has sent Egypt a batch of camels from one of the breeds as a present for racing. Head of the Egyptian Camel Racing Federation Eid Hamdan told Egypt Today that the eight camels were sent to contribute to reproducing camels for racing.

He stressed that this batch of camels is considered effective and will achieve a strong economic return for camel owners. He hailed the role of the UAE in supporting Egyptian camel racing as a sport.

The camel racing in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh will take place with the participation of camels from South Sinai, North Sinai, Ismailia, Suez, The New Valley, Upper Egypt, Cairo and Giza.

Saleh Abu Mohammed, head of the Camel Club in South Sinai's Nuweiba said in November that the support of the UAE, represented in its Camel Racing Federation, had provided an opportunity for Egyptian camels to show their strength in competition, while keeping pace with the modern trend in camel races through using the riding robots.

Remote controlled robots have been widely used in camel racing instead of child jockeys due to pressure of human rights bodies.

In October, the first version of the international camel racing festival in Sharm Al-Sheikh, also sponsored by the UAE, was launched with the participation of 600 camels from different governorates.

Also, Egyptian camels occupied the first four positions in a racing at the Crown Prince Camel Festival at the King Faisal Park in Taif, Saudi Arabia, in August this year.