Pool Reports by Nadia Bilbassy, Al-Arabiya
| Sent: | Reports: |
| June 2, 2023 12:02 EEST |
FLOTUS POOL #1 Middle East Trip June 2 Good Morning from Amman, motorcade is now moving towards the airport, streets are quiet, Friday is the officially weekend here, we will be taking off shortly, flight time is around one hour. At the airport US Ambassador to Jordan, Henry Wooster and other embassy staff said goodbye to FLOTUS and took a photo with her before she embarked on the plane. The First Lady is having a packed schedule today, here is the background to Day 1 in Cairo. BACKGROUND FROM THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY: DAY 4 OF 7: FRIDAY, JUNE 2 In the afternoon, the First Lady will arrive at Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt. Upon arrival, the First Lady will be greeted by Mrs. Entissar Amer and Charge d'Affaires of U.S. Embassy Cairo John Desrocher. The First Lady will also be welcomed by children of the Children's Choir of the Egypt Opera House. This arrival will be pooled press. Following the arrival at the airport, Dr. Biden and Mrs. Entissar Amer will have a brief greet inside the airport lounge before departing. This greet will be covered by a limited pool spray per hosts. Cairo, Egypt: Greet with His Excellency President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Mrs. Entissar Amer In the afternoon, the First Lady will join His Excellency Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Mrs. Entissar Amer for a greet at the Presidential Palace. This greet will be covered by a limited pool spray of photo and video only per hosts. Following the greet, the First Lady will join Mrs. Entissar Amer for lunch. This lunch will be closed press. Cairo, Egypt: Visit to El Sewedy Technical Academy In the afternoon, the First Lady will visit El Sewedy Technical Academy, a local technical education school in Cairo, Egypt to highlight investments in Egypt's education system through the partnership between the U.S. Government, the Government of Egypt, and the private sector. This visit will be pooled press. During the visit, the First Lady will learn about the school's partnership with the U.S. government and the impact on technical education for young Egyptian students. The First Lady will view students' capstone projects that address issues around the world and meet software engineering students to learn about original gaming programs they've coded. During the visit, the First Lady will be joined by:
About El Sewedy Technical Academy El Sewedy Technical Academy opened in November 2022 and was co-founded by USAID, Egypt's Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MOETE), and the El Sewedy Electrometer Company. The school specializes in software development, offers extracurricular activities including art, music, and drama, and professional development, and offers career development center activities including entrepreneurship, innovation, and career guidance activities. In 2021, USAID and the Government of Egypt began partnering with the private sector to open 10 new International Applied Technology High Schools, including El Sewedy Technical Academy. These schools offer technical and vocational education and training to prepare students for growing industries. Cairo, Egypt: Visit to Al-Azhar Mosque In the afternoon, the First Lady will visit the Al-Azhar Mosque and host a conversation with young Egyptians in Cairo, Egypt. This visit will be pooled press. During the visit, the First Lady will learn about the mosque and its role as one of the oldest continuously running universities in the world. Afterwards, the First Lady will host a conversation with young Egyptians at Al-Azhar Mosque as part of her global work to support young people around the world. The First Lady will hear young Egyptians' stories and perspectives. |
| June 2, 2023 14:10 EEST |
FLOTUS Pool #2 Middle East trip Cairo Plane touched down around 1:05 pm local time, Dr Biden walked down the stairs holding her flowery dress because of high winds. Temperature is 107 degrees, really hot! She was greeted by the First Lady of Egypt Mrs Intissar Amer who was wearing a beige suit with a matching headcover. Mr Mohamed Negem, Chamberlain of the Egyptian Presidency, Charge D'Affairs of the US embassy to Egypt, Mr John Desrocher, and two Egyptian flower girls age 9 and 12 dressed up in long dresses with blue belts , each presented a bouquet of white flowers to each of the First Ladies. Security was tight , your pooler couldnt hear the two ladies chatting via a translator on the red carpet. As we entered the VIP lounge I saw FLOTUS's daughter Ashley Biden and her sister Bonny Jacbos who will be traveling with her during the entire trip . Dr Biden had a photo up at the lounge before heading to Itihadia Palace where she will meet Egyptian President Abdul Farah Al Sisi. Itihadia is the main office of the President where he conducts all his official business. Unfortunately your pooler is not allowed to be at the meeting per Egyptian security arrangement. Only photo and video pool spray were negotiated to cover the greeting. We will be holding at Itihadia till the meeting is over then FLOTUS and Mrs Sisi will have a private lunch . Our next open press event is at 3:45 pm to a local technical educational school. |
| June 2, 2023 22:10 EEST |
FLOTUS Pool #3 - Middle East Trip - Cairo After more than an hour drive from Itihadia Palace, we arrived at the El Sewedy Applied Technology and Software School in October City, the school is located in a sandy area and considered the first school of its kind in Egypt. The First Lady along with her daughter and sister walked into a grassy courtyard where three stalls and three members of each team welcomed Dr Biden warmly and explained their projects to her in English. She listened to each team asking few questions. The students demonstrated their individual projects holding their laptops in their hands and enthusiastically explaining their projects. She was joined by Dr. Reda Hegazy, Minister of Education, and Technical education in Egypt, Leslie Reed, Egypt Mission Director for USAID. the full list of participants was sent in my previous report. One of the teams created an application to help people with disabilities after a firsthand encounter which led them to design the project. One of the other applications called "Salihli" means fix it in Arabic connects homeowners with service providers like plumbers, electricians, and carpenters. The next project was inside an air-conditioned classroom where three teams' designs computer games, FLOTUS played the first one with the student and won the game, everyone clapped. The second team played against ambassador John Desrocher Charge d'Affairs to Egypt who also won the game and the third one played by Ashley Biden who stepped in jokingly saying "my mom's not so great at technology" after Dr Biden declined to play more games. The students took a photo with her and just before she exited the room, she signed a banner which was hanging on the wall that read , (El Sewedy school welcomes Dr Biden) , she wrote " Students, you are all amazing, good luck, jill Biden. " The school is a partnership with the US government. We are back in the van and on our way to meet with students at Alazher Mosque, one of the most established Islamic Center in the Arab World. It was founded in around 970 by the Fatimid Caliphate as a center of Islamic learning. |
| June 2, 2023 22:16 EEST |
FLOTUS Pool #4 Middle East trip - Cairo We had literally no Wi-Fi for the last 4 hours, my apologies if you get two last reports one after the other. FLOTUS entered Alazhar mosque with her head covered in a light blue scarf I believe around 7 pm. She was greeted by Shiekh Salama Daoud, head of Alazhar university who took her for a tour of the mosque explaining its historical place in the world, its architecture, its contribution as a moderate center that stands up to extremism and to terror, (we spread a message of moderation) he added . The Sheikh was speaking in a very hushed voice while walking with FLOTUS and her entourage about the significance of the place for almost 10 minutes . She existed the mosque and crossed a courtyard made of marbles to a big room with high ceiling beautifully decorated in Islamic style . There were two wooden head chairs and 8 students sitting on either side, 5 females and 3 males , the women were dressed in hijab and long dresses according to Islamic law . The Shiekh spoke first stressing the importance of learning, sharing knowledge saying if the walls of this place which is over a thousand year old could speak, it will only speak knowledge. He referred to Muslim scholars like Ibin Khaldoun who enriched other cultures through his learned thoughts. He said that there are 700 American students are currently enlisted at Alazhar, he thanked FLOTUS and the US government for giving Fulbright scholarships to Alazhar students. Dr Biden spoke in turn mentioning that this is her second visit to Egypt but first as the First Lady , she used the term ( Um Al Dunia ) an endearing phrase used by Egyptians and Arabs to describe Egypt as the mother of the world. She talked in depth about her background as an educator in community colleagues and encouraged the students to open up about their set of beliefs , values and identities, " I believe the youth of Egypt are the future and the present " she added. The US must be a partner, not just government to government but people to people," she said She talked about faith and how it helps us in our darkness hour. She opened the discussion with the students about herself, her upbringing, her sisters , her summer nights in order to find a common dominators with the students who in return talked about their own experience of basically making the world a better place through kindness, love, peace, respect and public service . The event lasted over an hour We are back at the hotel, no public events scheduled. Have a great night everyone. It's almost 9:20 pm Cairo time. Sharing additional background of participants in the youth conversation at Al-Azhar Mosque.
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Jill Biden, First Lady Pool Reports of June 2, 2023 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/363001