Egypt boosts medical cooperation with African Nile Basin countries
Egypt is expanding its influence in the Nile Basin region, through the establishment of medical and pharmaceutical centers, amid the stalled negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
CAIRO — Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed inaugurated Oct. 18 the AFRI Egypt Medical Center for Health Care in Jinja, Uganda.
Officials who spoke to Al-Monitor said that the center’s inauguration is the beginning of an Egyptian plan to establish a group of pharmaceutical and medical centers in Africa with the aim of increasing its medicines exports.
Some also considered that the inauguration reflects Egypt’s efforts to expand in the African health and medication sectors, especially the Nile Basin countries, in order to protect its interests and strengthen its position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s (GERD) issue.
Mohammed Soliman, a scholar at the Middle East Institute, told Al-Monitor, “Egypt is on a charm offensive in Africa, especially in East Africa and the Nile Basin. Cairo is capitalizing on its competitive advantage in terms of medical centers and health care.”
