MOROCCO Wins 6 Medals in Athletics, 4 in Judo in the 9th Francophone Games, Kinshasa, Congo

Morocco currently ranks first totaling a number of 38 medals, with 13 gold, 11 silver, and 14 bronze.

On August 3, Moroccan athletes bagged 6 medals in athletics and 4 in judo on a single day, confirming the Kingdom’s leading position at this ninth edition of the Francophone Games taking place in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In athletics and para-athletics, the women’s 5,000-meter discipline representing the Kingdom conquered the podium with a trio comprising Rahma Tahiri, who claimed the gold medal and set a new competition record with a time of 15 minutes 56 seconds 71 milliseconds.

In second place came Kaoutar Farkoussi with a time of 15 minutes 57 seconds 91 milliseconds, while Soukaina Atanane took bronze with a time of 16 minutes 05 seconds 34 milliseconds.

In the men’s 1,500 meters, the runners Hicham Akankam and Hafid Rizqy won gold and silver recording 3 minutes 41 seconds 08 milliseconds and 3 minutes 41 seconds 89 milliseconds respectively. 

In para-athletics, Abdelkbir Jaddi won bronze in the long jump with a leap of 6.30 meters.

In judo, Hassan Doukkali won gold in the under-73 kilograms category, while Chaimae Taibi, Hamza Kabdani, and Ziane Wissal took bronze in the under-63 kilograms, under-81 kilograms and under-57 kilograms categories respectively.

In the same competition event on Tuesday, Morocco claimed three simultaneous medals in the women’s 1,500-meter event.

The three Moroccan athletes who stood on the podium were Wafa Zaroual, Soukaina Hajji, and Rababe Arafi.

Morocco currently has a total of 38 medals, with 13 gold, 11 silver, and 14 bronze, well ahead of second-placed Romania with 25 medals.

This year’s Francophone Games, which runs until August 6, brings together 2,500 young people aged 18 to 35 representing 88 countries, including Morocco, to take part in the various sporting disciplines and cultural activities scheduled for this event.

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com (headline edited)

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EGYPT: Former President of E-JUST Ahmed El-Gohary Awarded Emperor of Japan Order of Rising Sun

Former president of the Egyptian-Japanese University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) professor Ahmed El-Gohary received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon from the emperor of Japan on 31 July.

The order is in recognition of El-Gohary’s outstanding achievement for advancing the friendly relations between Japan and Egypt through promoting educational cooperation and scientific research exchanges over the years.

El-Gohary was crowned by Ambassador of Japan to Egypt Oka Hiroshi at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Garden City. 

El-Gohary assumed the presidency of the university for eight years, enhancing the educational and research standard of E-JUST by actively accepting Japanese professors as its faculty members to introduce practical Japanese-style engineering education in E-JUST. In 2017, he contributed to the establishment of the new Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of International Business and Humanities. These two faculties are the two pillars to sustain E-JUST.

The ceremony was attended by members of the university’s board of trustees, led by ambassador Faiza Abul-Naga, University President Amr Adly, former minister of education Ahmed Zaki Badr, former minister of transport Galal El-Said, former governor of Daqahliya Kamal Sharubim, and Maher El-Domyati, former governor of Beni Suef.
Also in attendance were former Egyptian ambassadors in Japan Ayman Kamel and Hisham El-Zemiti, Director-General of the Arab Organization for Administrative Development Ambassador Nasser Al-Qahtani, President of the British University in Egypt (BUE) Mohamed Lotfy, professor Ahmed Bayoumi, former president of Mansoura University Salwa El-Ghareeb, as well as former secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Universities, and a group of scholars and researchers in various fields.

In his inaugural speech, Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi said, “El-Gohary’s long journey of cooperation with Japan started as many as 30 years ago in 1992 when he came to Japan as a JICA-trained student. In this training he had learnt the latest medical knowledge and advanced examination techniques.

When he returned to Egypt, as a lecturer at Suez Canal University, he not only used his experience to teach younger Egyptian students, but he generously shared his expertise with students from Africa through the JICA sponsored Third Country Training Programme since 1996.”

El-Gohary’s efforts promoted Third Country Training in Egypt. “Thanks to his pioneering role in promoting Third Country Training in Egypt, countless numbers of students and experts from Africa and Middle East have come to Egypt to benefit from this unique type of cooperation between Egypt and Japan supported by JICA.

The third country training programmes have now come to include many fields such as education, electricity engineering, agriculture, and freshwater aquaculture, in addition to health, making Egypt the hub of third country cooperation programme. Professor El-Gohary has thus made a significant contribution to the successful expansion of the Third Country Training Programme as vice president of the Suez Canal University, and then as president of Fayoum University.”

“When a plan was announced at the Japan-Egypt summit on the occasion of TICAD 7 in 2019 that E-JUST accept African students by offering as many as 150 scholarship over the three years, professor El-Gohary toured Africa to promote E-JUST to accept excellent students from Africa. Thanks to his dedicated efforts, promising African students from more than 10 countries are now pursuing higher study at E-JUST.

Building on this successful TICAD scholarship, Prime Minister Kishida and President El-Sisi agreed in their meeting in April this year to provide additional 150 TICAD scholarships to African students. This time scholarships will go to PhD students. Professor Gohary has contributed to make E-JUST as the Centre of Excellence in Africa,” added Ambassador Hiroshi.

The opening ceremony of the E-JUST main campus with the participation of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in 2020 was successfully organized by El-Gohary, contributing to enhancing the profile of E-JUST both inside and outside Egypt. 
The second phase of the campus construction, which was approved by the president at the time of the opening ceremony, is scheduled for completion soon. In addition, El-Gohary has made efforts to strengthen collaboration with industries by actively promoting joint research with Egyptian and Japanese companies.

El-Gohary expressed his pride and happiness at being crowned with this prestigious award, thanking the government of Japan for its close cooperation with Egypt to establish the Egyptian-Japanese University as a distinguished scientific and research edifice.

“I hope that the university will continue its growth and development in the future as a symbol of cooperation between Japan and Egypt,” said El-Gohary.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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