French funding for Cairo’s third metro line
The 125th anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Egypt wins 2nd place in Euro-Med Award for Dialogue
Indian pumping stations in Luxor and Aswan
French funding for Cairo’s third metro line
Last Wednesday saw Dov Zerah, Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) sign an agreement to finance and execute the third phase of the third line of Cairo’s metro. The AFD is funding the project through a 300 million Euro loan to be repaid over 25 years. It is part of a total funding paln that includes a 40 million Euro grant from the EU Commission, and a 600 million Euro loan from the European Investment Bank.
The 125th anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
The embassy of India in Cairo has celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first education minister, thinker, freedom fighter and prominent Muslim scholar. Maulana Azad was born in Mecca on 11 November 1888.
Azad became an enthusiastic supporter of Gandhi’s ideas of non-violent civil disobedience, and worked actively to organise the non-cooperation movement in protest at the 1919 Rowlatt Act ( A draconian act to control public unrest). Azad worked on spreading Gandhi’s principlesand ideologies, including promoting national products. In 1923, at the age of 35, he became the youngest person appointed as president of the Indian National Congress.
As India’s first post-independence Education Minister, Azad oversaw the establishment of a national education system with free primary education and modern institutions of higher education. Maulana Azad said, “We must not for a moment forget, it is a right of every person to receive at least the basic education without which he cannot fully discharge his duties as a citizen.”
In 1910 Maulana Azad, had a tour in the Middle Eastncountries during which he visited Egypt and Iraq. In Egypt, Maulana Azad met the prominent reformer Sheikh Mohamed Abdo.
An cultured scholar, Maulana Azad was called by Mahatma Gandhi “The Emperor of learning”. He wrote several books, among which, are his commentary on the Quran.
Interestingly, the Indian cultural centre in Cairo carries the name Maulana Azad Centre.
Egypt wins 2nd place in Euro-Med Award for Dialogue
The Egyptian Association for Development and Enhancement of Women (ADEW) (Egypt) has won the second place of the Euro-Med Award for 2012. ADEW is an organisation which works to alleviate poverty and eradicate cultural differences that perpetuate inequality between genders. The fifth place went to the Egyptian Reem Kassem who established in 2011 AGORA for Arts and Culture, an independent organisation connecting arts practice and non-formal education with social development.
The Euro-Med Award for Dialogue between Cultures is an annual competition which recognises the efforts of individuals and organisations working for the promotion of intercultural dialogue. This inter-network programme is co-organised by the Anna Lindh Foundation and the Fondazione Mediterraneo. The selection of five finalists for the Award is made by the Heads of the National Networks. The selection of the winner is carried out by members of the National Networks through an online voting system, encouraging the participation of the National Networks in our effort.
Indian pumping stations in Luxor and Aswan
The Embassy of India in Egypt recently opened two pumping stations in Bemban, Aswan and al-Ruzaiqat in Luxor, as it celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Indian Kirloskar Borthers Limited (KBL) in Egypt. The media office of the Indian Embassy announced that by next year a service centre SBB will be opened in Cairo to provide technical support to the expanding market of pumps in Egypt.
Kirloskar has been exproting diesel-driven pumps to Egypt since 1962, benefitting some 10,000 farmers.
Watani International
17 November 2012