In cooperation with the African-Middle Eastern Society of Gastroenterology, in coordination with the Rwandan Society of Gastroenterology, and in partnership with the Egyptian-African Society for Cardiology and Research and the Friends of the Heart Institute, the Arab Fund for Technical Assistance to African Countries (AFTA) launched a training programme for gastroenterologists and cardiologists at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. The programme is being held from 26 to 29 August.
Ambassador Mohannad Saleh Lajouzi, Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and Director-General of AFTA, supervised the opening of the training courses on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. The opening ceremony was attended by Her Excellency Ambassador Narmine El-Zawahri, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Rwanda, the President of the Rwandan Society of Gastroenterology, the Fund's partners, and a number of hospital directors in Rwanda.
In his speech, Ambassador Lajouzi conveyed the greetings of Secretary-General Mr. Aboul Gheit to the participants. He expressed his hope that the trainees would benefit from this initiative to strengthen their professional skills and expertise. He underlined the Secretary-General's keen interest in supporting African professionals in various fields, particularly healthcare. He also reviewed the Fund's activities and pledged to continue providing technical assistance to African countries, with plans to replicate this initiative in the future to further enhance the competence of Rwandan doctors.
For her part, the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt commended the medical teams dispatched by the Fund and expressed her hope that such support would continue, thanking the League of Arab States, represented by the Fund, for its efforts. The President of the Rwandan Society of Gastroenterology also delivered a speech in which he praised the League of Arab States and its partners for their contribution to building the capacity of specialist doctors through the participation of Arab experts. He voiced his hope for sustained support, particularly in training doctors at the hospital in gastroenterology and cardiology, given the pressing need to strengthen medical expertise in these and other specialties.