Egyptian-French Relations: 200-year Cultural Cooperation

By

Nawal Sayed

CAIRO,

Jan. 24 (SEE) - In the framework of boosting the Egyptian-French Relations on

various fields, the year of 2019 is announced to represent the Paris-Cairo

cultural ties on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of opening

the Suez Canal.

French

President Emmanuel Macron is expected to visit Egypt on Monday as his first

official visit to Cairo since he took up office in 2017.

In

this regard, SEE will publish consecutive articles highlighting the

Egyptian-French relations at fields of culture, politics, military and economy

ahead of Macron's visit.

In the

following lines, SEE presents to its readers historic stops of the

Egyptian-French cultural cooperation throughout the past two centuries.

Few days ago, Education Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar discussed with French Ambassador to Egypt Stephane Romatet means of boosting cooperation in the educational domain.

French Ambassador to Egypt Stephane Romatet

Abdel

Ghaffar praised Egyptian-French ties in various fields, especially educational,

cultural, and research domains, saying the political administration mainly paid

special attention to boosting investments in education.

Abdel

Ghaffar and Romatet exchanged views on reinforcing cooperation in the cultural

and educational arenas, including developing the French University in Egypt.

On his side, Romatet said Paris was interested in enhancing its relations with Cairo, especially in the educational and research joint projects.

In

Jan. 2019, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of

the Suez Canal in 1869, France and Egypt, at the highest level, decided to

celebrate this year, 2019, the historical and cultural ties that combine them

through organizing a French-Egyptian cultural year.

Alexandria Opera House

The

French Cultural Institute in Cairo announced that the year of 2019 will be for

“highlighting the French-Egyptian mutual heritage and cultures via boosting

artistic exchanges between Cairo and Paris.”

“On

Jan. 8, a unique dance performance featuring the dancers of the Paris Opera and

their Egyptian counterparts Opera was performed at Zamalek-located Opera House

in Cairo,” the Institute's statement revealed.

This

year’s cultural events, covering all artistic disciplines, will continue

throughout 2019 in several cities in France and Egypt in cooperation with both

the French Institute in Cairo and the Egyptian Cultural Center in Paris.

The

scheduled events are expected to be attended by many partners from the public

and private sectors in France as well as in Egypt.

Suez

Canal Inauguration

It

is a sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red

Sea. The official opening took place on Nov. 17, 1869 under the administration

of the Suez Canal Company (1859 – 1869.)

Official Inauguration of Suez Canal in 1869

Currently,

the canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) of Egypt.

Under the Convention of Constantinople, it may be used “in time of war as in

time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of

flag.”

In

August 2014, construction was launched for expansion to speed the canal’s

transit time. The expansion was planned to double the capacity of the Suez

Canal from 49 to 97 ships a day.

At

a cost of $8.4 billion, this project was funded with interest-bearing

investment certificates issued exclusively to Egyptian entities and

inpiduals.

The

“New Suez Canal”, as the expansion was dubbed, was opened with great fanfare in

a ceremony on 6 August 2015.

On

24 February 2016, the SCA officially opened the new side channel at the

northern side of the east extension of the Suez Canal.