WATANI International
9 May 2010
Egyptian-Spanish business forum
Cairo will play host to the Egyptian-Spanish business forum next Tuesday, with more than 50 Spanish investment groups attending. Some 130 Egyptian companies are expected to take part in the two-day event. The forum will provide an opportunity to lure Spanish investors to Egypt, Trade and Industry Minister Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed said, describing the Spanish economy as the fifth largest in the European Union and the third in the Mediterranean Basin. Rasheed explained that, among the issues to be discussed was establishing a shipping line between Alexandria and Barcelona.
More Internet
The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) annual conference was held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh recently. The two-day conference discussed “Regulation for Development”, focussing on the development of the Internet and means to enhance its access within the Egyptian community. The conference attracted an elite spectrum of Egyptian and regional information and communication technologies (ICT) and media experts, as well as international IT experts from Europe, the United States and Asia.
Euro-Mediterranean universities
Next June, the University of Alexandria will host the International Conference of Euro-Mediterranean universities, involving 141 universities from 37 countries. The conference will discuss issues of heritage protection, renewable energy, pollution, and marketing in Mediterranean countries and the EU.
Safe migration
The Ministry of Family and Population has signed a cooperation protocol with Italy to conduct a media campaign to raise the awareness of the Egyptian youth about safe migration and the tragedies that frequently result owing to illegal migration. The campaign would focus on Fayoum governorate, which statistics show ranks first in the number of illegal immigrants. The campaign would then extend to include all governorates of Egypt.
Egypt at Stephansplatz
Egypt’s tourism advertisement won the first place at a monthly competition organised by the Austrian Transport Media Award among 25 competitors. The winning advertisement covered all advertising spaces in Stephansplatz Metro Station, the most important in Vienna since it lies in the heart of the city, next to its oldest cathedral, St Stephan’s.
2,000-year-old hoard
Archaeologists have unearthed 383 bronze coins dating back to King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century BC and was an ancestor of the famed Cleopatra, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has announced. A statement by the SCA said one side of the coins was inscribed with the hybrid Greek-Egyptian god Amun-Zeus, while the other side showed an eagle and the words Ptolemy and king in Greek. Founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals, the Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt for some 300 years, fusing Greek and ancient Egyptian cultures. The coins were found north of Lake Qarun in Fayoum 80km southwest of Cairo. Other artifacts unearthed in the area included three necklaces made of ostrich eggshell dating back to the 4th millennium BC and a pot of kohl eyeliner from the Ottoman Empire. The objects will all be displayed in the new Egyptian museum under construction near the pyramids of Giza.
Headless statue
A headless granite statue more than 2,000 years old belonging to an unidentified Ptolemaic-era king has been discovered by an Egyptian-Dominican team at the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria. Zahi Hawass, SCA secretary general said the well-preserved, 135-centimetre tall statue may be among the most beautiful carvings in the ancient Egyptian style, and could belong to King Ptolemy IV.