. Nasr

By HARBGUY MWAMBAZI –
“If you ask me where I would like to be posted again, I would say Zambia.”
This is one statement Egyptian Ambassador to Zambia Ragai Tawfik Nasr makes without any hesitation.
The envoy believes Zambia is one country that has enjoyed bilateral relations with his country, Egypt.
Taking time off his busy schedule to discuss relations between Zambia and Egypt and the role he believes he can play in furthering drawing the two countries closer, Mr Nasr described the friendship between Zambia and Egypt as very special.
He said that friendship dates back to the days of First Republican President Kenneth Kaunda.
Born on May 1, 1965, Ambassador Nasr grew up mostly in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
He obtained a Bachelors Degree in Economy and Political Science in 1988 at the University of Cairo.
Besides carrying out his ambassadorial duties, the envoy is also proud to serve as permanent representative of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) whose secretariat is in Lusaka.
After completing his university studies, Ambassador Nasr joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt in 1989. That marked the beginning of his responsibilities in the Foreign Service.
“I worked in a number of countries before arriving in Zambia. I was dispatched for my first posting in Albenia, then Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. My last posting under the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs was to work as deputy assistant foreign minister in Sudan, and then I came here in Zambia in January, 2014, which was my first posting as an ambassador in the country,” he said.
Ambassador Nasr is married with two children; a son and a daughter.
Ambassador Nasr described Zambia as being very similar to Egypt mainly because of the peoples’ cheerfulness.
“When I first came here, I noticed that the people of Zambia were very similar to us. They are very cheerful, they enjoy life, they are disciplined, and that makes me and my family feel at home. As a
family, we love it here; my kids are going to school here and they don’t want to go back because we are enjoying our time here,” Ambassador Nasr said.
He said the weather in Zambia is nice, very peaceful and friendly.
“If you ask me where I would love to be posted again, I would say Zambia and I tell my friends back at home at the ministry that this country is nice because you have everything to make work easy for you
here,” he said.
He said even in terms of politics, Zambia is doing well.
Ambassador Nasr described Zambian food as being very rich and natural, referring to nshima (a staple hard porridge made from maize meal) and vegetables which he has tasted before. He said most of the foods are a delight to eat.
Away from his busy life, Ambassador Nasr’s favourite hobby is reading.
“I like reading a lot. I can say that is my number one hobby. Anything in my way I make sure I read it; be it political, economy, you name it,” he said.
The ambassador said the relationship Zambia and Egypt have enjoyed since the leadership of Zambia’s first President should be bolstered for further development.
He said Zambia even took the initiative to name three major roads after iconic places in Egypt.
He singled out Cairo road in the heart of Lusaka’s Central Business District which is named after the Egyptian capital city.
Ambassador Nasr said that he wants to build on the historic relations between Zambia and Egypt by helping the two countries to carry out new projects.
“That is why we – in Egypt – thought, how can we strengthen the relations with our brotherly countries, especially Zambia?
“Of course I look forward to build on that historical background, but nowadays its important do something new, for the future and for the young people,” he said.
Ambassador Nasr also said that the two countries are working towards increasing bilateral co-operation in various sectors this year and in the years to come.
“It is for the best of both countries – Zambia and Egypt – to increase this co-operation so that there is development in areas of health, agriculture, capacity building as well as trade,” he said.
In the line with health, the Egyptian government will this month present the Zambian Government with hospital equipment worth approximately US$1million.
The donation would be done in the spirit of friendship between the two governments and the equipment is meant for the Zambia’s highest referral hospital – the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).
Ambassador Nasr said the donation would constitute a whole unit of cardiology equipment.
“The Egyptian government will donate a whole unit of cardiological equipment to the UTH next month, to ensure that doctors at the hospital are equipped with up to date equipment to carry out various
treatments, especially in that field of cardiology,” he said.
He explained that the donation is as a symbol of the long relationship that Zambia and Egypt have cherished.
He said Egypt will also send doctors to offer practical help to their Zambian counterparts at the hospital.
“Added to the donation of the equipment, we shall also facilitate some doctors from Egypt to come over and offer some practical help to the doctors in cardiology at the UTH. That will ensure that ideas,
knowledge and practical skills are shared,” he said.
Ambassador Nasr said since 2014, Egypt has sent 100 doctors to Zambia as part of training programmes in critical health issues.
“We have done this over the past three years to ensure that even the doctors get some professional skills to bring back here in Zambia.
Life is very important and health consolidates that,” he said. Ambassador Nasr said agriculture is another sector that needs increased expansion, as Zambia had rich land to exploit.
“Zambia has a lot of rich land that it can work with in compares to Egypt were we have desert,” he said.
He said a long time; Egypt has thrived sorely on agriculture, similar to what Zambia is trying to do by upholding agriculture.
He said the difference between the two countries is that Zambia has always had rich land compared to Egypt were technology is used in order to sustain farming.
“That is why development needs to be improved in that area mainly because land is available, and Zambia can make use of it to minimize importing fruits and vegetables,” he said.
He said Egypt can offer some technological assistance to Zambia so that agriculture is taken to a higher level and that will contribute to the growth of the economy.
Ambassador Nasr disclosed that the Egyptian-Zambia Joint Forum was established a while back, to ensure that certain foreign crops begin to be produced in Zambia.
“We have had a forum jointly between the two countries that is stationed in Mwembeshi close to the prison, where inmates are directly involved in the produce of maize, Egyptian mangoes, wheat, and soya
beans,” he said, explaining that once the harvest is done, the produce is sold in Zambia and the seeds are given to organisations that work with farmers.
He said next year, Egypt was looking forward expanding farming activities under the auspices of the forum so that cultivation of grapes can start.
He said Egypt already has some expert engineers who are visiting Zambia to scout and analyze the location that could be suitable for farming the grapes.
Interestingly, the experts have recommended that the weather was good for growing grapes.
Ambassador Nasr said Zambia does not need to import grapes because it is blessed with land.
Egypt is also trying to ensure that there is consistent development in capacity building, by empowering young people with higher education.
“Over the past three years, we have sent 300 youths to Egypt, to make sure that they get training in areas of diplomacy, media, agriculture, health, and police. Empowering the youth paves way for a better future as they gain these experiences,” he said.
A forum for brainstorming on how media can be built up is currently underway in Egypt where various media heads from Zambia would be in attendance.
Ambassador Nasr said in the area of trade and business, Egypt was looking at expanding its exchange trade activities because there is a lot that the two countries can do.
“We also need to increase our area of trade with Zambia because we have a wide range of things we can exchange which include textiles, copper, as well as furnished products,” he said.
The envoy said culture also played a very important role in the two countries relations.
He said without culture, there could be no interchange of ideas.
He said cultural exchange is very important between two countries. “We are one of the countries that brings in some cultural musical groups from Egpyt and have had some perform at the Zambian
Independence Anniversary jubilee, the Livingstone Cultural Arts Festival (LICAF) last year; all this is done to share our culture here in Zambia,” Ambassador Nasr.
According to the envoy, Egypt will soon begin the translation of some books of local Zambian writers into Arabic, to better give the Egyptian people a taste and understanding of Zambian literature.
Ambassador Nasr also thanked Zambia for being instrumental in successfully hosting international conferences.
“We thank Zambia for always striving to organise and facilitate important international meetings in the capital. The AU (African Union) Summit of the Peace and Security Council was an example of successful hosting of such events,” he said.
He said Zambia and Egypt being members of the AU shows the need for the two countries to always uphold peace within Africa.
Ambassador Nasr further said more visits between the two countries are needed in order for Zambia and Egypt to draw closer and expand future relations.
He said President Edgar Lungu has been invited to visit Egypt sometime this year.
He described Mr Lungu’s impending visit as a step forward.
He said African countries should work together to resolve various problems confronting the continent rather than tool to outsiders.
He said African people are brothers and sisters who need to help each other at all times.
Rather than look for solutions elsewhere, Africa must exhaust alternatives with the continent because African nations know the problems they face better ad can always try to tackle such problems as a united front.
On a light note, Ambassador Nasr thanked Zambia for hosting the ongoing Under 20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
He said the on-going AFCON games have an aspect of cultural exchange because a number of countries are being represented by their soccer teams at the tournament where they will share ideas.
Ambassador Nasr urged said he had repeatedly reminded the coaching staff of the Egypt Under 20 team to be wary of their Zambian team which posed a great threat in this year’s tournament.
“Zambia is a very tough team, seeing that they won the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) previously, so the boys (from Egypt) have to be ready. Overall it will be a great tournament
to watch,” he said.
He paid tribute to the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) for making sure that all participating teams, including Egypt, were warmly received and accommodated.