Egypt’s Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem received this week Ambassador of France to Egypt Stéphane Romatet and representative of the French National Assembly and member of the French parliament Frédéric Boutet to discuss means of enhancing cultural and artistic cooperation between the two countries.

Abdel-Dayem said soft power is one of the means of enhancing friendship, describing it as the bridge of communication between nations. She explained the strength and depth of relations between Egypt and France, pointing to the richness of creativity in European countries, past and present, which is the base of achieving cultural convergence between the two societies.

She assured of the need to strengthen intellectual and artistic exchange between the two countries in various creative fields, underlining the importance of expanding artistic and educational scholarships between the two countries.

Ambassador Romatet said his country hopes to participate in the creative movement happening in Egypt in all artistic and cultural fields. He referred to the pivotal cooperative role of French cultural centres in Egypt, expressing happiness at French participation in various international events organised by Egypt, including the Cairo International Book Fair and Cairo International Film Festival.

Romatet invited Abdel-Dayem to visit Paris and meet her French counterpart, Roselyne Bachelot, who is known for her passion for Egyptology and classical music.

At the end of the meeting, Boutet bestowed upon Abdel-Dayem the French parliament's commemorative medal. In return, Abdel-Dayem gave the French ambassador a collection of Ministry of Culture publications.