English 
Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, held a meeting with Mr. Renaud Muselier, President of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and President of Southern France, to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation between Egypt and the French region of Côte d'Azur in the field of higher education. This meeting comes as part of the events accompanying Egypt's hosting of the United Nations Climate Change Summit COP27 currently taking place in the city of Sharm El Sheikh.
The meeting which took place at the Mediterranean Pavilion, held for the first time in the history of COP summits, was attended by Professors Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, Dr. Mansour Hassan, President of Beni Suef University, Dr. Adel Mubarak, President of Menoufia University, and Dr. Gamal Soussa, President of Benha University.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Ashour stressed the depth of relations between Egypt and France, confirming the need to benefit from French expertise in the fields of higher education and scientific research, calling for more cooperation in priority areas.
The meeting discussed the possibility of signing a cooperation protocol between the French University of Marseille and Alexandria University, and going through the process of activating this agreement during the coming period, in addition to discussing mechanisms of scientific and cultural cooperation with the Library of Alexandria, in light of its international reputation at the cultural and scientific levels, and the fundamental resources it contains in various fields.
During the meeting, Dr. Ashour demonstrated the experience of higher education and scientific research in Egypt, and the currently witnessed developments and successes in the field of providing education, through the establishment of many national and technological universities, stressing Egypt's interest in scientific research and linking it with industry to support the national economy.
The minister highlighted the success of investment in the field of education in Egypt, stressing the importance of supporting international cooperation with universities abroad, which are now offering dual degrees to qualify students for the labor market, noting the remarkable success and progress of Egyptian universities in international rankings. He also confirmed that there is a strategy aimed at upgrading higher education in Egypt at the academic, scientific and research levels, whether locally, regionally or internationally.
The minister stressed the importance of Egypt's hosting of the United Nations Global Convention on Climate Change (COP27), currently taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, in light of the global interest in the issue of climate change and its potential impacts on the environment, pointing to the ministry’s interest in participating in the success of the conference, as it represents the prominent leading role of Egypt and global appreciation of this role.
For his part, Mr. Muselier valued Egypt's successful organization of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh and its impressive appearance, which is an opportunity to discuss climate change as one of the issues of concern to the international community, especially in the Mediterranean region, which suffers from its impacts in a way that requires the collective cooperation of all the Mediterranean countries in particular to solve climate issues in the region.