Hon. Younes, Chairman of AOI Aircraft Factory,
General Hamid Eid, Chief of Engineering of Egyptian Air Forces,
President Yang Chuanshu of CATIC
Ladies and gentlemen,


It is a great honor for me to be here to attend the ceremony for awarding certificate of recognition by China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) to Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) Aircraft Factory. This is an important event not only for CATIC and AOI, but also for the broader cooperation between China and Egypt in aviation industry. I want to congratulate CATIC and AOI on the fruitful cooperation and remarkable achievements you have made since the inception of K-8E Jet Trainer Project.



K-8E project is a landmark project in China-Egypt cooperation in aviation industry. This is the first time for China to transfer aircraft production line to a foreign country. The leaders and governments of our two countries all attached great importance to this project. The workers, technicians and management staff of both countries have made their due contributions as well. I am very pleased to learn that the phase one of the project came to a very smooth conclusion with 38 aircrafts delivered to Egyptian Air Forces and two just off the assembly line. I want to commend CATIC especially its staff of Cairo office for the excellent job they have done. I also want to say in high praise of the commitment and teamwork shown by the Chinese and Egyptian technicians, engineers and workers. I am confident that with this spirit of teamwork the phase two and phase three of the project will be even more productive and successful.



Ladies and gentlemen, K-8E is not simply another project of China-Egypt cooperation. It is a symbol of strategic cooperative relationship President Jiang Zemin and President Mubarak decided to establish between China and Egypt. The project will not only go a long way with building national aviation industry in Egypt but also play an important part in strengthening Egyptian national defense. We are living in a world which is undergoing the most dramatic changes since the end of the cold war. On the one hand, the trend of multi-polarization and economic globalization is bringing more opportunities to the humankind; on the other hand, the world development is in a state of flux. The irrational and unfair old international political and economic order has not been fundamentally changed. Ethnic conflicts, religious clashes and territorial disputes disrupt one after another, while the non-traditional security problems like terrorism, wealth gap between the rich and the poor, environmental deterioration have come to prominence. In short, the world is far from being tranquil and problem-free. As two important Asian-African nations as well as major developing countries, China and Egypt share broader responsibility to address these challenges and strengthen the strategic and cooperative relationship which is conducive not only to promoting the fundamental interests of Chinese and Egyptian people, but also to enhancing cooperation among developing countries, promoting the establishment of a just and fair new international order and safeguarding the peace and stability of the region and the world at large.


With this big picture in mind, we are all the more engraved with the strategic significance of K-8E project. We have every reason and should make every effort to ensure the success of this project. Let it be not only a milestone of our cooperation in aviation industry but also a pacemaker of China-Egypt strategic cooperative relationship.
     
Thank you.