Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi playfully interacted with the host of the program "Salah al-Tahrir," Izzat Mustafa, broadcast on the Sada Elbalad channel, at the end of their phone call. The president jokingly said, “I’ll tell the director to give you 10 minutes instead of the time you took from the episode.”
During the phone call, President Sisi discussed the issue of educational development, stating, “We have spent many years saying we want to develop education, and we have started taking steps. The situation over the past 40 years has become a condition in Egypt regarding education for our children.” He continued, “The current goal of educational development is to create a real development for building a genuine character that prepares people for the labor market. After all this, we find some portraying it as if the state is against its children.”
Sisi also spoke about supporting artistic works that address issues of awareness and renewing religious discourse, and for the first time, he commented on the events in Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover. Regarding support for artistic works that discuss renewing religious discourse, he said, “I won’t engage in a discussion about religious discourse, but the whole issue is that we need to fortify our boys and girls, and both the young and old should understand how the world around us works. There are many issues, honestly; the issue of understanding, understanding the challenge—the challenge to the capacities of states. The greatest danger is the targeting of the state.”
In the phone call, Sisi reiterated his strong support for artistic works that discuss religious awareness, emphasizing, “I am supportive and ready, and the ball is in your court.” On Afghanistan, he remarked that the country has had a completely different shape over the past 50 years, saying, “It had a completely different look; bring books and watch films, see what Afghanistan was like and how it looks 50 years ago.” He added, “Look at Afghanistan, and you will find it a different country from the one we are talking about now.”
At the end of the call, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi invited the journalist Izzat Mustafa to tour the areas where residents of informal settlements were relocated, to see how they are currently living, commenting, “I go there a lot because these are my family and my people.”
