SADAT CITY, Egypt, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Obeid said on Wednesday that Egypt is ready to promote its technological cooperation with China in the area of environment protection.

   During his tour of the Egyptian-Chinese Friendship Forest, about?100 kilometers northwest of Cairo, Obeid said that Egypt encourages?bilateral cooperation in environment protection, while stressing the importance of bilateral cooperation in the area of anti-desertification.

   Hailing Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's just-concluded visit to Egypt, Obeid expressed his belief that Zhu's visit will help further bilateral ties in the coming years.

   The two countries have so far planted about 50,000 trees in an area of 210 hectares since 1998. Enditem