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CCTV News: Let's take a look at today's (February 12) "Ambassador to China Greeting the New Year". Egypt's ambassador to China, Hanafi, spent his second Spring Festival in China this year. Egypt, one of the world's ancient civilizations, is the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with China, and one of the first countries to join the Belt and Road Initiative. On New Year's Day 2024, Egypt officially became a new member of the BRICS. Hanafi said that he looks forward to further working closely with China under these mechanisms to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt.
Asim Hanafi, Ambassador of Egypt to China: I would like to extend all my love and blessings to our Chinese friends.
Asim Hanafi, Ambassador of Egypt to China: This year is the "Year of the Wooden Dragon", which has a special meaning in the Chinese lunar calendar, the dragon is not a real animal in nature, it has a lot of symbolic meanings, such as tenacity, prosperity, so the concept (of this year's Spring Festival) is beyond the usual, back to the village, back to the hometown, to accompany the family, our region is similar to China, during Ramadan, we also have families to eat together, people eat special sweets, wear new clothes, especially children. I'm also very happy to be able to experience this moment again, and I would like to take this opportunity to send my best wishes for the Year of the Dragon to the Chinese audience.
Asim Hanafi, Ambassador of Egypt to China: In 2023, there have been many high-level and important events, including the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which was attended by a delegation led by our Prime Minister and signed a series of cooperation projects, covering logistics and connectivity between China and Egypt. Egypt's historic accession to the BRICS mechanism came into effect in January this year. Egypt is an important ancient civilization and, like China, has many famous historical monuments and artifacts. Nowadays, we have more flights, more Chinese cities to Egypt, sometimes almost every day, so I am looking forward to it and I would like to extend a warm invitation to the Chinese audience, and I am sure that it will satisfy the love of history and tradition of my Chinese friends.
Asim Hanafi, Ambassador of Egypt to China: Chengdu, Sichuan, with its spectacular scenery and delicious food, Hainan's beautiful sea and tropical landscapes, Shanghai's modernity, and Tianjin's rising city with an enterprising spirit, are all amazing and show the extraordinary achievements of China's development process. Again, I see a balanced development of these cities, and I don't see any significant differences in the development of different provinces and cities, which I think reflects China's success in development and poverty alleviation projects. I also wish the Chinese people more prosperity and prosperity, and China's prosperity is the prosperity of the world, and vice versa. Seeing the Chinese countryside, seeing the harmonious development of man and nature, all of this makes a bystander like me feel optimistic, and we see the Chinese miracle.
Ambassador of Egypt to China, Asim Hanafi: We are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and China, and the central business district (the new administrative capital of Egypt) is at the top of our new flagship project, with quite a lot of projects, quite a lot of buildings, especially the iconic building built by Chinese companies, which is a huge infrastructure project, very large scale of technology and investment. Most of our government agencies have moved from the old Cairo to the new capital, hoping to speed up construction this year. Essentially, we hope that this will open a new phase of the new Egypt, which will then be replicated in other Egyptian cities, with the same idea, which is to upgrade the local infrastructure and improve the living standards of the Egyptian people.
Egyptian Ambassador to China Asim Hanafi: Happy Year of the Dragon!