Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and his Somali counterpart, Hamza Abdi Barre, witnessed the signing of the MoUs during an official visit by Barre and a high-level delegation to Cairo.
Egyptian Higher Education Minister Ayman Ashour and his Somali counterpart, Farah Sheikh Abdul-kadir, signed an MoU on the executive programme for higher education cooperation from 2023 to 2026.
The MoU aims to boost cooperation between Egyptian and Somali higher education institutions and universities and to exchange educational delegations, an Egyptian Cabinet statement cited Ashour as saying during the signing ceremony.
According to the programme, Egypt will offer 450 scholarships annually for Somali students, the minister noted. He added that under the MoU the two countries will set up research teams.
Furthermore, Egypt is willing to provide Somalia with experts and doctors to revamp the Somali National University and its medicine faculty.
Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine Al-Kilani and her Somali counterpart, Daud Aweis Jama, signed an MoU on cultural cooperation.
As per the MoU, the two sides will hold exhibitions for fine arts and traditional crafts and festivals and will organise visits for artists in the fields of theater, music, and folklore, Al-Kilani said.
Furthermore, Egypt and Somalia will enhance cinema cooperation by exchanging movies and visits by those who are working in the field of cinema. They will also work on intensifying participation in film festivals.
Somalia will also be welcomed to participate in book fairs held in Egypt every year, Al-Kilani noted. She added that the two sides agreed on holding cultural weeks and translating Somali literary works into Arabic and Arab literary works into Somali.
Somalia’s Jama also signed two MoUs to promote media cooperation with both the Egyptian National Media Authority and State Information Service (SIS).
Another MoU was signed between Egypt’s Ministry of Religious Endowments and the Somali Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.
The MoU, which will be effective until 2026, primarily aims to enhance cooperation between the ministries in the two countries in the cultural and religious spheres.
As per the MoU, the two sides will exchange invitations to participate in international Holy Quran competitions. The Egyptian side will also provide the Somali side with the publications of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.
The Egyptian ministry will also offer scholarships to a number of Somali students in line with the admission criteria set by Al-Azhar. Somali imams and preachers will also receive training at the International Awqaf Academy (IAA).
Source: Al Ahram Online
