In the recent years, Egypt foreign policy, especially in the aftermath of the June 30th revolution, aims to care for the Egyptian citizen abroad as a first priority and then to support and strengthen the areas of political, economic, scientific and cultural cooperation, as well as protecting Egyptian national interests and enhancing regional and global security.
Undoubtedly, the Coronavirus crisis has made us all feel proud of what has been accomplished in Egypt lately.
Strong Egypt with its capabilities, scientific method, internal cohesion, and awareness of its people in the face of crises, was able to place Egypt in a decent position among world countries.
“SEE” managed to undergo a wide-ranging interview with Ahmed Abu Zeid, the Egyptian Ambassador to Canada, who is considered an honorable model for an Egyptian diplomat who works around the clock to serve Egypt's interests.
Here is the full excerpt of the interview:
Egyptian-Canadian relations
Abu Zeid stressed that Egyptian-Canadian relations are historic and deep since the 50's of the last century.
He added that Canada had played a significant role in establishing the first United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) after the 1956 tripartite aggression against Egypt, thanks to the proposal and efforts of the late Canadian Minister of External Affairs Lester B. Pearson.
According to Abu Zeid, this initiative has had a major impact in supporting the relationship between the two countries over all these years and confirmed Canada's key international role in supporting peace and stability, especially in the Middle East region.
Economic, Developmental, and investment Cooperation
The ambassador added that Egypt and Canada enjoy various fields of cooperation, confirming that successive Canadian governments were always keen to support the Egyptian economy, in the fields of education, health, agriculture, irrigation, technical training, small and medium projects, women's empowerment projects as well as health care for women and children.
In addition, Canada is keen to pump investments in the oil, gas, mining, and gold prospecting sectors, as well as in the fields of ammonia, methanol, with investments exceeding $4 billion.
Concerning Trade cooperation, the ambassador noted that it is considered a main pillar in the relations between both countries, adding that Egypt's exports to Canada exceed one billion Canadian dollars, while Egypt's imports from Canada amount to about 742 million Canadian dollars.
Mutual visits
Abu Zeid said that last year witnessed a remarkable development regarding high-level visits and joint meetings between the two countries, where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on the sidelines of the last African Summit in Addis Ababa in February 2020.
Last May the Canadian senate speaker George Furey visited Egypt. During this visit, he met with President Sisi, Parliament Speaker Dr. Ali Abdel Aal, in addition to a number of ministers and MPs.
It was an important visit, as it reflected the key role played by parliamentary diplomacy in supporting the relationship between the two countries, according to the ambassador.
In December 2019, newly-appointed Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne visited Cairo to take part in Aswan peace forum.
On the other hand, last February Egypt's oil minister Tarek al-Mulla traveled to Canada to participate in the international conference and exhibition for mining "PDAC", the world’s largest and most perse mining convention held annually in Toronto.
Joint initiatives
Egypt's ambassador to Canada said that the two countries have managed through their missions to the United Nations in New York, to launch an initiative aimed at shedding light on food security challenges in Africa in light of the Coronavirus pandemic, as it has a dual and multiplier effect on countries with poor economic, financial and development conditions in Africa.
Egyptian community in Canada… True Ambassadors
The ambassador said that the Egyptian community in Canada represents a significant and powerful factor in the relations between both countries.
He added that relations between peoples and direct communication between inpiduals are one of the most important pillars of ties between countries.
Abu Zeid also pointed out that the " very distinguished" Egyptian community in Canada has reached about 300,000 members living in various Canadian provinces.
They managed to penetrate various aspects of everyday life and sectors of the Canadian economy influentially, through holding high scientific and political positions.
Abu Zeid added that he considers the members of the Egyptian community to be the true ambassadors of Egypt in Canada, as they live among various segments of society, and they permanently talk about Egypt and its ongoing developments.
Moreover, he added that they are always keen to support economic and social development programs in their motherland.
Egyptian students in Canada
The ambassador said that Egyptian students in Canada are indeed an honorable example whether in terms of their high patriotism and sense of belonging to their homeland, or their scientific superiority, indicating that their numbers are constantly increasing during recent years.
He added that the Egyptian embassy communicates with many of them periodically, attending their annual meetings, organizing activities, and meetings with them in various universities, in addition to attending and supporting their cultural or social events.
Egyptian ambassador tours in Canada
Abu Zeid revealed that, since his arrival in Canada, he was keen to undertake various tours - as far as possible - in the thirteen provinces of Canada to explore investment opportunities as well as economic and trade cooperation between Egypt and each province.
He added that he visited a large number of factories specialized in wood, foodstuffs, farms, animal production, as well as space environment and aviation sciences firms
The ambassador also visited major Canadian universities and gave lectures in some of them, adding that the embassy is always keen to inform all Egyptian ministries of the available opportunities to benefit from Canadian expertise and to encourage mutual investments.
In addition, Abu Zied is keen to visit major Coptic Orthodox Churches in various parts of Canada on Easter and Christmas occasions.
Cultural and educational cooperation
The ambassador said that Canada pays a great interest in Egyptian culture and civilization, as Canadians are educated people who value the human civilization in general, and Egyptian one in particular.
He added that Egyptian diplomacy is currently giving special attention to utilizing its soft power in promoting Egypt and supporting its foreign relations.
Abu Zeid added that he is always keen to inform the citizen and Canadian officials about the Egyptian culture through organizing various exhibitions and seminars dealing with various aspects of the Pharaonic, Islamic, and Coptic civilizations.
The diplomat added that the Egyptian embassy also sponsors various Egyptian arts exhibitions either painting or sculpture.
Concerning education, the ambassador stated that the establishment of the Canadian University in Egypt in cooperation with the universities of "Prince Edward Island" and "Ryerson" has paved the way for transferring Canadian expertise in the education field to Egypt.
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