Kazakh Ambassador Kairat Lama Sharif held a meeting with the Governor of Cairo, General Khaled Abdel-Aal Abdel-Hafez, El.kz reports with reference to the press service of Kazakh MFA.
During the conversation, the sides exchanged views on the possibilities of expanding cooperation between Astana and Cairo, the need to establish sister-city relations between the capitals of both countries.
The mayor of the Egyptian capital told the Ambassador about the development of the urban agglomeration (the so-called "Greater Cairo"), the number of which today exceeds 22 million people, the ongoing efforts to reduce traffic on the roads and overcrowding of Cairo by building a new administrative capital, to which all central authorities will be relocated.
In turn, the Kazakh diplomat told the interlocutor about large-scale political and socio-economic reforms in the country as part of the course announced by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to build a "Just Kazakhstan". He noted the new program of economic reforms in the country, which provides for measures to increase competition, fair distribution of national income, favorable conditions for investors.
The parties paid special attention to the issue of preparing for the opening of the ancient Sultan Beibarys Mosque in Cairo as part of the celebration this year of the 800th anniversary of Sultan Beibarys. In this context, the Ambassador proposed to hold the Days of Culture of Kazakhstan in Cairo and expressed confidence that this event will be followed by further steps in strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties between our countries.
The Ambassador also invited the Mayor of Cairo to pay a visit to Astana and take part in the Astana International Forum, which will be held on June 8-9 of this year in the capital of Kazakhstan as the head of the city, which in 2022 according to Statista Global Business Cities took first place in the ranking of global business cities in Africa.
Following the meeting, an agreement was reached on practical measures to intensify contacts between the capital of Egypt and the Kazakh regions.