On the sidelines of his visit to Paris to participate in the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, met with a delegation from the University of Lyon headed by Dr. Manuel Joubert, Vice President of the University for European Affairs and International Relations.  

Dr. Ayman Ashour stressed Egypt’s keenness to support cultural and scientific cooperation relations with France, and to open more channels of cooperation with French universities by developing new programs and specializations needed by the labor market, to benefit from its expertise in providing study programs of international quality.

The Minister of Higher Education stressed the importance that the Ministry currently attaches to establishing geographical academic research zones, in order to achieve the maximum benefit from all human, material and research resources available to all parties located within the geographical scope.

Dr. Manuel Joubert noted that the University of Lyon is in the process of establishing a research group interested in studying Mediterranean society.

The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research pointed out the importance of adding research groups from Egyptian universities located within the geographical scope of the Mediterranean in order to produce positive and more comprehensive results.

For its part, the University of Lyon welcomed the minister’s proposal, and immediately drafted a memorandum of understanding that was signed by both sides, in order to begin taking the necessary measures towards formulating an agreement for research cooperation between universities in the Mediterranean basin.