President El-Sisi Attends Labor Day Celebration

alhadath – cairo

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi participated in the Labor Day celebration, which was held at the headquarters of the National Egyptian Railway Industries Company (NERIC) in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, East Port Said. Upon his arrival, the President was received by Speaker of the House of Representatives Counselor Hisham Badawy, Speaker of the Senate Counselor Essam El Din Ahmed Farid, Prime Minister Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Dr. Hussein Issa, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defense and Military Production Lieutenant General Ashraf Salem Zaher, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Ahmed Khalifa, Minister of Transport Lieutenant General Kamel El-Wazir, as well as a number of ministers, the Governor of Port Said, the Chairman of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Chairman of NERIC and the President of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation.

The Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, said the celebration started with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an, followed by a speech delivered by President of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation Mr. Abdel Moneim El-Gamal, on the occasion of Egypt’s Labor Day celebration. At the conclusion of his speech, Mr. El-Gamal presented the Labor Day shield as a commemorative gift to the President. This was followed by the screening of a documentary on the annual Labor Day celebration and the key activities of the Ministry of Labor, entitled “Makers of the Present and Builders of the Future.”

The celebration also included a speech by Minister of Labor Mr. Hassan Raddad, after which the President inaugurated four new projects via video conference: the Zagazig Electricity Substation in Sharqia Governorate;
Rawafaa Rashid 2 Transformer Station,
in Giza Governorate; Boulaq El-Dakrour General Hospital in Giza Governorate; and Toukh Central Hospital in Qalyubia Governorate. This was followed by the screening of a documentary on the NERIC factory, after which Minister of Transport Lieutenant General Kamel El-Wazir delivered a speech.

President El-Sisi honored a number of workers from various sectors by awarding them decorations and medals in recognition of their efforts and distinguished contributions in their respective fields. The President then delivered a speech marking the Labor Day celebration.

In his speech, President El-Sisi highlighted the efforts made to create new jobs, including the agricultural and industrial sectors, and explained that despite the challenges facing the region and the world, the unemployment rate in Egypt has dropped to 6.2%. The President emphasized that both the private and public sectors are working to create new jobs in the form of formal or informal employment. The President added that 60 to 65% of the Egyptian population is under the age of 40. This means that most of them are already in the job market or about to enter it. The President explained that providing employment and education opportunities for this large number is a significant challenge that requires concerted efforts from all parties. It also requires a serious commitment to both general and vocational education to ensure the competence of workers, whether employed in Egypt or abroad. The President stressed the importance of job creation opportunities, whether in small, national, or other projects, given the continuous need to provide employment for a large segment that adds to the actual size of job market in Egypt, estimated at around 60 million people.

The President affirmed that the state is working to reclaim 4.5 million feddans, which will be added to Egypt’s agricultural land, within the framework of the New Delta project and the projects of the Future of Egypt Authority. Furthermore, 450,000 feddans will be added to the agricultural land in the Sinai Peninsula. The President noted that achieving this goal required the construction of the Bahr El-Baqar water treatment plant, in addition to other related infrastructure. The President emphasized that the state is seizing every opportunity to achieve development and modernization and stressed that everyone must be certain of this, pointing to the importance of concerted efforts to achieve the target goals.

President El-Sisi then conducted an inspection tour, during which he inspected a metro car after its assembly at the NERIC factory. Eng. Karim Sami Saad, Chairman of the Board of Directors of East Port Said Development, provided an explanation during the inspection. The President concluded his tour by taking commemorative photos with NERIC senior officials, executives, and workers.