Finnish amb. lauds big progress made by Egypt in field of education

CAIRO - 5 December 2021: Finnish Ambassador in Cairo Pekka Kosonen has praised quick progress made by Egypt in the fields of education, urban development, technology and infrastructure.

Egypt has also taken “daring” steps toward empowering major segments of the Egyptian society, such as women and youth, Kosonen said in statements to MENA Sunday.

He pointed to a steady rise in foreign direct investments in Egypt, believing Cairo is also keen on investing in human capital.

He, however, stressed the need to attract more sustainable and long-term businesses in the field of human capabilities, especially that more than 50 percent of the Egyptian workforce is active in the service sector.

Indeed, education and vocational and technical training are greatly important in this context, the diplomat noted.

He touched upon “long history” of bilateral relations and cooperation in several projects, including in education and digital innovation.

Egyptian Education Minister Tareq Shawqi was recently in Helsinki, where he signed a memorandum of understanding with his Finnish counterpart Li Andersson with the aim to boost cooperation in education and vocational and technical training.

Kosonen also talked about cooperation with Egypt through the EU, particularly where the environment is concerned. He cited fields of bilateral cooperation, including in green and renewable energy, agriculture, environment-friendly buildings, technology, infrastructure and artificial intelligence solutions.

Kosonen put the volume of trade exchange between the two countries at about 400 million euros annually. He expected that sum to increase in the coming years.