Russian Diplomat Day celebrated in Cairo

Reham El-Adawi , Friday 19 Feb 2021

The Russian Cultural Centre in Dokki celebrated Russian Diplomat Day by holding an archival photo exhibition to honour the memory of late Russian politician Yevgeny Primakov

Russian Centre Aleksey
(L-r) Head of the Russian Centre Aleksey Tevanyan, Minister Plenipotentiary Yuriy Matveev and the embassy secretary
The Russian Cultural Centre in Cairo, headed by the Counsellor of the Russian Embassy Aleksey Tevanyan, celebrated "Russian Diplomat Day" on Monday.
 
The celebration was attended by a delegation from the Russian Embassy in Egypt, headed by Yuriy Matveev, the Minister Plenipotentiary in Cairo, along with a delegation of Egyptian graduates of  Russian and Soviet Universities, as well as Russian language students.
 
1
Minister Plenipotentiary Yuriy Matveev place flowers on the bust of Yevgeny Primakov (Photo credit of the Rusiian Cultural Centre)
 
To mark the day, a congratulatory telegram was sent on Wednesday from the Egyptian Association of Graduates from Russian and Soviet Universities, presided over by Sherif Gad, to the Russian Ambassador in Egypt Georgiy Borisenko.
 
A similar telegram was also sent from the graduates association to Mikhail Bogdanov, the deputy foreign minister of Russia and the personal Envoy of President Vladimir Putin in the Middle East and Africa.
 
2
Russian language students celebrate the Russian Diplomatic Day at the Russian Cultural Centre
 
On this occasion, flowers were placed on the bust of Yevgeny Primakov (1929 – 2015), the late Russian politician, academic and former prime minister and foreign affairs minister of Russia, as one of the pioneers of Russian and Soviet foreign affairs over many decades.
 
Tevanyan, who commissioned Egyptian artist Mohamed Thabet to create this bust, said "Primakov was considered a friend of Egypt and was a political expert who played a crucial role in shaping Russian-Arab relations for several years."
 
He pointed out that Primakov often stressed Egypt's pivotal role as the heart of the Middle East region and also valued the importance of celebrating "Russian Diplomatic Day" at the Russian Cultural Centre in Cairo and specifically in front of Primakov's bust.
 
 
Its worthy to mention that the Russian Cultural Centre in Cairo honoured - during a ceremony that marked the 75th anniversary of the start of Russian-Egyptian diplomatic relations - the memory of  Primakov by unveiling a bronze bust of the Russian statesman in October 2018. The statue was the first of Primakov in the Middle East.
 
For his part, the Minister Plenipotentiary Yuriy Matveev highlighed the importance of celebrating "Russian Diplomatic Day" as an opportunity to thank the Russian foreign ministry and its employees for the great efforts being made in extending bridges of communication between Russia and the world, especially in the Arab region.
 
Russian Diplomatic Day is held in February, the month that saw the establishment of the Russian ambassadors department during the reign of the Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan IV in the middle of the 16th century.
 
The event also featured an exhibition of archival photos on the life of Primakov, most of which included his meetings with world and Arab leaders and his shuttle trips within the Arab region.
Short link: