Dr. Elfeki Inaugurates “The Suez Canal .. A Place of Memories” Conference
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Dr. Moustafa Elfeki, Director of the BA, inaugurated “The Suez Canal .. A Place of Memories” Conference, on Wednesday, 13 November 2019. The Conference was organized by the BA Center of Francophone Activities to celebrate 150 years since the inauguration of the Suez Canal (1869 – 2019). The event was attended by Mr. Stéphane Romatet, the French Ambassador to Egypt, Mr. Thierry Chambolle, President of the “Association du Souvenir de Ferdinand de Lesseps et du Canal de Suez”, and Ms. Marie Dominique Nenna, Director of the “Centre d'Études Alexandrines”.
Dr. Elfeki stressed in his speech the strong relationship between Egypt and France, and asserted that three years of the French Expedition, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, had a remarkable cultural impact on Egypt (The Description De l’Egypte) that was far better than that of the British Occupation, which lasted 70 years. He also emphasized the importance of the Suez Canal which, together with the Pyramids and the High Dam of Aswan, were built by the efforts of the Egyptian peasants.