Egypt's Landmarks Go Blue on UN 75th Anniversary

The United Nations in Egypt and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrated the United Nations Day, in a limited ceremony at Tahrir Palace, in the presence of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Cairo Richard Dictus. 

This 2020 celebration marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the organization. 

The UN and Egyptian diplomats also celebrated a long history of partnership, as Egypt is a founding member of the United Nations and participated in its activities starting from peacekeeping efforts and multiple participation in the Security Council to support national efforts for development in multiple fields, mainly to achieve the 2030 development agenda and the sustainable development goals.

In a speech on the occasion of this Day, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirmed that in light of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the core mission of the United Nations has become more important than ever, which is to "promote human dignity, protect human rights, respect international law, and save humanity, from the scourge of war" and asked people everywhere to join hands.

The celebration sheds light on many areas of partnership between the United Nations and the Egyptian government, and the most prominent successes achieved over 75 years, including the response of the UN system in Egypt to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"This anniversary represents an important opportunity to reaffirm Egypt's firm belief in the goals, principles and purposes contained in the United Nations Charter, as well as to renew its commitment to cooperate with member states to strengthen the pillars of collective multilateral action to meet the aspirations and hopes of peoples around the world,” Shoukry said.

The celebrations also included lighting up the most prominent landmarks in Cairo with the UN’s blue color such as the pyramids, the Cairo Tower, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.