On July 23, 2024, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Ukraine Ayman Elgammal held a diplomatic reception on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the Revolution of July 23, 1952.
On July 23, Egypt celebrates a public holiday – the Day of the Revolution of 1952, which resulted in the overthrow of the feudal monarchical regime of King Farouk and the establishment of a republic.
In 1953, Egypt was proclaimed a republic. Since 1971, the official name of the country is the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The solemn event on the occasion of the holiday was attended by honored guests: heads of diplomatic missions of foreign countries accredited in Ukraine, representatives of the leadership of state authorities, including Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa Maksym Subkh, Islamic religious figures, members of the Egyptian diaspora, educators and cultural figures.
At the beginning of his speech, Ambassador of Egypt to Ukraine Ayman Elgammal congratulated all those present on an important date in the history of the Arab Republic of Egypt, highlighted the main stages of Egypt’s formation as a sovereign country and economic achievements over the past 10 years – during the revolution that took place on June 30, 2013 and the establishment of the third Egyptian Republic in 2014.
In his speech, Mr. Ambassador emphasized that our countries have established close friendly relations in political, economic, commercial and investment spheres.
“The trade balance between Egypt and Ukraine before the coronavirus pandemic and the current war was $2.1 billion, and in 2023 it amounted to about $1.3 billion. Egypt is still the main trading partner for Ukraine in Africa and the Middle East and the seventh trading partner in the world, and the beginning of this year shows progress in returning the trade balance to pre-war levels,” the diplomat said.
He also emphasized that Egypt and Ukraine have a long history of cooperation in the space sector, and the first Egyptian satellite was designed and built in Ukraine with the participation of Egyptian experts.
In his speech, the Head of the Diplomatic Mission elaborated on the recent history of Egypt after the 1952 revolution, when his country witnessed the wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973, where more than 30% of the country, namely the Sinai Peninsula, was occupied for 6 years and, like Ukraine, underwent severe trials.
However, Egypt managed to liberate all of its lands not only through military force, but mainly through diplomacy, applying to the International Court of Justice to return the last disputed territory, the Egyptian city of Taba, even 16 years after the end of hostilities in 1973.
Drawing on this page of history, the Ambassador emphasized his country’s unwavering position in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, as these principles have defined Egypt’s position on all conflicts, including Ukraine, since 2014.
“In addition, Egypt believes that no conflict can be resolved by military means alone, as diplomacy plays a primary role in resolving any conflict, so we participated in the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee on the Ukrainian Crisis, which was established by the Arab League and at the initiative of African presidents after the outbreak of full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. During the OAS Summit27 , President Al-Sisi called on world leaders to work toward a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine. In addition, Egypt supports all efforts of the parties to resolve the conflict peacefully,” the diplomat said.
On behalf of the Ukrainian government, the Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa, Ukrainian diplomat and historian Maksym Subkh expressed congratulations on the occasion.
