Chinese embassy organizes Ramadan charity event in Egypt

Chinese Embassy in Egypt and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt organized a food distribution event on Sunday for needy Egyptians during Ramadan. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

CAIRO, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Egypt and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt organized a food distribution event on Sunday for needy Egyptians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A total of 8,000 food baskets were donated and given to residents in eight Egyptian governorates through charitable organizations, according to the organizers.

Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang speaks during a charity event in Cairo, Egypt, on April 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

During an event held in Cairo to distribute the food baskets, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang said that the Chinese charity event, which is named "Chinese-Egyptians Shoulder-to-Shoulder," echoed Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's "Shoulder-to-Shoulder" initiative, which aims to mitigate the effects of inflation and higher energy and food prices on citizens.

The event conveys Chinese people's good wishes and friendliness to the Egyptian people, Liao said, adding that the development of China-Egypt relations and the high-level pragmatic cooperation between the two countries will further benefit the two peoples.

People receive boxes of donated food during a charity event in Cairo, Egypt, on April 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

Tamer Samy, representative of the minister of social solidarity of Egypt, spoke highly of and sincerely thanked the Chinese side for hosting the Ramadan charity event, saying that it demonstrates the strong bonds between the two peoples.

For his part, Mamdouh Shaaban, director-general of the Orman Association, an Egyptian non-governmental charity organization, praised the friendship between Egypt and China.

The two countries have been "shoulder to shoulder" since they established diplomatic relations nearly 70 years ago, he said.