Halt ozone layer depletion
Later this month Egypt will host the international conference for the signatories of the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol on protecting the ozone layer. Some 196 countries will take part in the conference to follow up on the procedures taken to protect the environment and to halt the depletion in the ozone layer. The conference will be held in Marsa Alam on the Red Sea coast, some 800km south of Cairo.
Egypt Italy scientific
Egypt and Italy started talks earlier this month to explore proposals on a joint project to harness solar energy. The meeting is chaired by Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hani Helal and runs for two days. The project falls within the framework of the Egypt-Italy Science Year 2009 and aims at boosting research capabilities in the field of energy.
African women in business
Cairo will be hosting a two-day regional conference on the role of African women in the business sector and small-size enterprises on 27 October. Delegations from 18 African countries are expected to participate, as well as international and regional organisations concerned with African women. The conference will be held jointly with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. It is set to discuss ways to activate the role of African women in business, and review the forms of support which can be offered to help them overcome the negative impact of the global economic crisis.
Egyptian Dutch social insurance
Egypt and the Netherlands recently agreed to activate a deal on providing insurance for Egyptian and Dutch expatriates in their respective countries of residence. Up to 1,500 Egyptians in Netherlands, who are now being posted on the privileges of the agreement, pay 1.9 million Euros annually to enjoy the advantages offered by the Dutch social insurance law in light of the agreement.
Electric lines
The Egyptian General Company for Electrical Projects has won an international tender to build power lines in Yemen with investments amounting to EGP75 million. Also in Libya, an Egyptian consortium is completing a project for building power networks which extend over some 400kms at the cost of a billion Egyptian Pounds.
In this context the Arab Union of Producers, Transporters and Distributors of Electricity has issued a dictionary of the terminology used in the electricity sector to ensure the safety of electric grids among many Arab countries, with a view to standardising this terminology.
Converter plant in Nigeria
The Egyptian El-Sewedy Cables Holding Co will be building an electrical converter plant in Nigeria. The USD25 million project is a joint venture with the Lagos State governorate. El Sewedy Cables will have a 94.7 per cent stake in the factory, the company said in a statement to the Cairo Exchange.
Alex University in N’Djamena
An Egyptian delegation from the Technical Fund for Cooperation with Africa is on a visit to Chad to discuss establishing a branch of Alexandria University in the Chadian capital N’Djamena. The step comes within the framework of boosting relationships with Africa countries on various levels, the political, economic and cultural.
Woman in Science
Pharmacologist Sanaa’ Botros, professor at Theodor Bilharz Research Centre in Cairo, has been awarded the African Union Prize for Women in Science for North Africa. Botros has to her credit some 60 research papers published in international periodicals on the treatment of pandemic diseases.