Egypt will start the construction of a “giant” obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics hospital in Djibouti next month, as the first specialized hospital in the African country, Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Sunday.

The establishment of the hospital has been agreed on during President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s “historic” visit to Djibouti in May, Zayed told a press conference in Cairo with her Djiboutian counterpart, Ahmed Abdilleh.

A nursing and midwifery school as well as an ambulance department will be attached to the hospital, Zayed said, adding that Egypt will supply the Djiboutian side with an ambulance vehicle.

Egypt will supply the hospital with medical staff, medicine and medical supplies, Zayed said, adding that the operation and preparation of the hospital will be Egypt’s responsibility.

Abdilleh, during the presser, hailed the step as a qualitative leap in the medical field in the country, especially in the field of obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics.

He added that the planned hospital is a gift from the Egyptian people to the people of Djibouti and reflects the good and brotherly relations gathering the two countries.

Abdilleh affirmed that his country welcomes cooperation with Egypt in various fields, including the health and medical domains.

He promised that his country will facilitate all the required procedures for the implementation of the project in the shortest time possible and will ensure the removal of any obstacles in this regard.

Zayed said the average number of births per family in Djibouti is 10 and therefore an obstetrics and pediatrics hospital is largely needed, especially that the hospital will serve a “crowded” area.

El-Sisi’s visit to Djibouti earlier this year is the first official visit by an Egyptian president to the African country since its independence in the seventies.

Meeting with his Djiboutian counterpart Ismaïl Omar Guelleh during the visit, El-Sisi reiterated Egypt's keenness to enhance support directed to development efforts in Djibouti.

Cooperation could also extend to the transfer of Egyptian expertise to Djibouti as well as providing technical support and capacity-building programmes for Djiboutian cadres, El-Sisi told Guelleh.

Guelleh hailed Cairo's "sincere" efforts to support economic reform and development paths in Djibouti and praised the Egyptian private sector’s contribution to the economic development process in Africa.

Egypt in May sent four planes carrying medical aid to Djibouti to support the health sector in the company amid the coronavirus crisis.