Cairo in Jan6,2022
An educational symposium was launched this morning at the headquarters of the main hall of the Fayoum University Library – an educational symposium entitled “Africa, which has not yet been discovered”, in the presence of Dr. Yasser Hatata, President of the University, Dr. Mohamed Abul-Ghar, Vice President of the University, Dr. Yousrey El Sharkawy, chairman of the Egyptian-African Businessmen Association, and Dr. Mahmoud Abdel Fattah Dean of the Research Institute for Strategic Studies for the Nile Basin Countries and Dr. Adly Saadawi, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Mohamed Fayez Farhat, director of the Al-Ahram Center for Strategic Studies. The activities of the symposium “Undiscovered Africa” organized by the Institute for Research and Strategic Studies of the Nile Basin Countries at Fayoum University in cooperation with the Egyptian African Businessmen Association, came Very fruitful and presented a constructive societal dialogue, where the symposium discussed modern mechanisms of joint African action and the importance of this to enhance fruitful cooperation, Egyptian-African relations and popular rapprochement and the role of this in reaching the new Africa. It also shed light on the role of civil society in the year of civil society 2022 in the success of the African file, Education, scientific research and modern communication mechanisms and their impact on enhancing the mental image of the brown continent.
Dr. Yousrey Elsharkawi referred to the role of the private sector as a main axis in strengthening cooperation with the countries of the African continent, highlighting the role of civil society organizations, pointing to the goal of establishing the Egyptian-African Businessmen Association to play this role and address businessmen, businesswomen and entrepreneurs in the African continent, and in line with the modern system The successive developments of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Fifth Generation of the Information Revolution and work to modernize the business community and change their mental image of Africa and the unintended mistakes that affected the Egyptian-African relations and dealing with the other in the logic of dialogue and what you represent to the other.
He stressed the role of civil society organizations, especially that 2022 represents the year of civil society in Egypt to direct a new ideology to deal with the African file, study the African market, face all challenges to invest with Africa, face the problems of dealing with transportation and banks, and develop mechanisms for a strong export system capable of dealing with all Export markets and building an export idea that faces all obstacles and finding a national vision to achieve general goals and promote sustainable Egyptian-African cooperation.
Elsharkawi also pointed to the need to spread the culture of localizing the Egyptian product to prevail in African markets under the slogan “Made in Egypt”, in addition to the importance of setting a vision to export the products of the private sector to the heart of African markets along with the products of major national companies. The Egyptian investor goes to African markets to create demand for the Egyptian product and introduce exporters to the characteristics of the African economy in which there are pioneers and businesswomen to communicate with them and exchange Egyptian-African experiences and activate committees for investment, industry and scientific research to promote sustainable cooperation. The African market is 2.2 consumers in 2050, and owns about 40% Including purchasing power, and the African community specializes in agriculture, but it exports raw materials to be restored as a finished product, with an amount exceeding 50 billion dollars a year, and Africa produces cocoa seeds and exports it to the world with 5 billion dollars, which it exports after manufacturing with a hundred billion dollars and benefits from 95 billion manufacturing teams. For the media to spread awareness of the continent’s wealth so that it becomes the continent’s wealth for the continent and to benefit from those wealth by manufacturing it and not by confronting it as raw materials.
In addition to the necessity of activating the role of the private sector and investments directed towards the African continent and organizing educational trips for university students to visit Africa and get to know it.
At the end of his speech, Elsharkawi indicated that the Egyptian-African Businessmen Association has 15 offices within the African continent and established 47 webinars last year in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the participation of African experts and businessmen to spread awareness among the Egyptian citizen of investment opportunities in the African continent and contribute to setting a vision for the future of the African continent.