On 23rd July every year, the Arab Republic of Egypt proudly commemorates its National Day. The 1952 Revolution and its principles enabled Egypt to assume its righteous role as an active player internationally, and advocate of peace, political and economic independence, and international justice across the world. Putting those noble principles into action has brought Egypt closer to its counterparts in the Global South who shared the same challenges, vision, and aspirations, allowing to build and foster ties with friendly nations including Sri Lanka. It gives me a great honor on this auspicious occasion to extend my sincere greetings and best wishes to the friendly people of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, hoping that the nation would expeditiously overcome its ongoing economic, social, and political challenges, and achieve stability and prosperity.
Egypt and Sri Lanka have always enjoyed excellent relations throughout history and across governments. Egyptians and Sri Lankans have traded valuable goods and exchanged cultural, religious, and humanitarian practices for centuries. Seven prominent Egyptian army officers and nationalist leaders, exiled to Sri Lanka in 1883 with their families, were warmly welcomed by the Sri Lankan people. Orabi Pasha Cultural Center in Kandy, Zahira College, and Orabi Pasha Mawatha in Colombo stand witness of this legacy.
This year, as Egypt celebrates the 70th anniversary of its Revolution, it is also commemorating 65 years of diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka, being the first African and Arab country to take this step in 1957. For six and half decades, both countries played pivotal roles in launching and leading the Non-Aligned Movement and various South-South cooperation schemes. They have worked closely in all international fora to disseminate peace, stability, and international justice.
Today, Egypt and Sri Lanka are bound by numerous agreements and memoranda of understanding covering trade, investment, tourism, culture, arts, agriculture, civil aviation, political consultation, and security cooperation. The Egyptian International Center for Agriculture provides regular training programs for Sri Lankan cadres, while Egypt’s leading educational institutions welcome Sri Lankan students on fully paid scholarships. More effort is currently being undertaken on both sides to upgrade our contractual framework, including in the fields of visa facilitation, judicial and legal cooperation, export promotion, diplomatic training, maritime transport, youth and sports, education, and avoidance of double taxation.
During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, both countries showed much resilience on foreign trade and were able to facilitate bilateral flow of commercial goods with significant success, as well as operate direct cargo flights between both capitals for the first time since the 1970s. This last year witnessed an unprecedented interest of Sri Lankan investors in Egypt, given the latter’s numerous advantages in this regard. Mutual tourism is also witnessing a significant revival with facilitation of visa procedures on both sides. The future holds tremendous opportunities in all aspects of economic cooperation between both countries.
Human interaction and cultural exchanges are the essences of bilateral relations between nations. Sri Lankans and Egyptians have been bound by arts, music, literature, and architecture for centuries. Evidence suggests mutual influences between ancient civilizations in both nations from the dawn of recorded history. In modern times, people-to-people relations have materialized and intensified further as Egyptian and Sri Lankan youth are interacting in so many aspects and occasions, contributing to the better understanding of the two societies and cultures in a more-than-ever entangled world. Sri Lankan folk dance and chanting troupes have participated in several arts festivals in Egypt. It is also worth mentioning that Sri Lankan filmmakers have featured prominently in Egyptian film festivals for more than four decades. The Best Third World Film Prize at the third edition of Cairo International Film Festival in 1978 was awarded to the late Dr. Lester James Peries for his film 'Ahasin Polowata'. In 2006, Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Jayakody won the 'Silver Pyramid Award' for the best film director in the thirtieth edition of Cairo International Film Festival. Another platform that provides a unique opportunity for Sri Lankan and Egyptian youth to interact and share experiences is the World Youth Forum, organized annually since 2017 in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, under the auspices of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Combatting extremism and terrorism is another common challenge and significant aspect of cooperation and coordination between Egypt and Sri Lanka. Both countries lost leaders in treacherous terrorist acts and have been confronting extremist groups for decades. Enhancing tolerance and mutual understanding among various ethnic and religious communities within the notion of “human fraternity” is of utmost importance to both nations. In this regard, Egypt’s prominent religious and cultural institutions like Al-Azhar, the Coptic Orthodox Church, and Bibliotheca Alexandrina assume active roles in promoting peace, tolerance, dialogue, and mutual understanding across the world. Cooperation with Sri Lanka in this field is high on the agenda.
As Egypt and Sri Lanka are currently facing the same set of challenges and are working closely to exchange experiences and best practices, I hereby confidently state that our long-standing bilateral relations are on the right track. Meanwhile, we will not spare any effort to enhance those relations and carry them out to wider horizons for the benefits of our countries and peoples.
