The Presidency
Early this morning, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi conducted an inspection visit to the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Capital. Upon his arrival, the President was received by the Director of the Egyptian Military Academy Lieutenant General Ashraf Zaher.
Spokesman for the Presidency Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy stated that President El-Sisi began his visit by performing Fajr prayer with the academy’s students. Then the President observed the morning lineup’s physical fitness and witnessed the marching, equestrian, cycling, and cross-country parade passing the podium.
President El-Sisi also delivered a speech prior to the start of the morning lineup.
Following this, the President met with female students of the College of Medicine and female participants in the Ministry of Transport course, before heading to the equestrian club at the academy.
Along the way, President El-Sisi passed by fitness and cycling groups, challenge fields, and team-work activity areas, where students demonstrated various skills. The President was received at the club by its director and a number of officers. The President was briefed on the latest developments related to the equestrian club, observed archery and show jumping demonstrations. The President then headed to the equestrian track to follow up on the horse breeding nucleus experiment.
The President had breakfast with the academy’s students and engaged in dialogue with them, emphasizing the importance of practicing sports and of instilling a culture of physical activity among the Egyptian people. The President stressed the importance of academy students continuing to practice sports after graduation.
President El-Sisi reiterated that the curricula taught at the academy ensure educational merit, explaining that the academy’s education and examination system was designed according to the highest standards following thorough study and review.
The President noted that consideration is being given to establishing specialized, high-level military colleges that would teach civilian subjects such as politics, economics, medicine, and engineering.
President El-Sisi stressed the importance of respecting cultural differences among people and avoiding polarization. The President pointed out that the academy’s programs consolidate concepts of coexistence and acceptance among students. The President reaffirmed his keenness to personally follow up on students’ conditions and the state of the academy, with the aim of continuously improving and enriching the experience. The President advised academy students on the importance of making good use of time and social media.
President El-Sisi further emphasized that appointment to government positions must be based on objective, neutral, and abstract criteria, without any favoritism, to ensure justice and credibility, stressing his firm keenness to ensure the application of this principle.
The President concluded his inspection tour of the Egyptian Military Academy by viewing a presentation of the academy’s electronic historical record by the Director of the Academy.
President El-Sisi’s Speech at the Egyptian Military Academy
I welcome you all and extend to you my greetings and respect and express my admiration for you. You are Egypt’s hope. The young men and women of Egypt are the hope, whom we ask Allah the Almighty to prepare and equip so that they may bear the responsibility of preserving the state. I wish you well and ask Allah the Almighty to crown all our efforts with success.
I welcome the new courses, including both male and female students from military colleges, as well as civilian courses from the Ministries of Irrigation and Finance, Endowments, Transport, and Foreign Affairs, as well as teachers, and judges in the coming few days. I hope that your time at the academy will be a period of building and development in all fields.
The core idea behind the Egyptian Military Academy is to implement a program of development, modernization, and change within our institutions. This idea is based on the fact that human development is an integral part of the evolution of mankind, and that stagnation means regression. Allah the Almighty created existence in this way. Therefore, the concept of development and change reflects the vitality of the state and its institutions. This represents a form of self-criticism of the path we are taking. It does not imply disparagement of our institutions, rather, acknowledging that stagnation and lack of development lead to backwardness.
We must faithfully uphold the trust that Allah has bestowed upon us within our institutions, and every official bears responsibility in this regard. While a basic aspect of responsibility is for every family to provide food and drink for its children, human development in values, education, knowledge, and public behavior are matters that require work both at the family level and at the level of the state.
The Academy’s philosophy is based on establishing standards for selection and recruitment that apply to all state institutions, according to the needs and criteria of each institution. People need to understand that the aim of these programs is to achieve the public interest, not polarization or discrimination. We seek to clarify that discipline and well-planned care can yield outstanding results.
It is important for those who receive training at the academy to transfer what they have learned to society, and to transfer its positive impact to state institutions, without arrogance toward others who did not attend these courses.
We established these courses to ensure merit. The rationale behind the academy offering these programs is to create a unified pathway for character building and to ensure merit in education and evaluation. In designing the programs, we were keen to neutralize the human factor and ensure that those who benefit from and pass the courses are deserving of success, without favoritism, and possess the ability to operate within their institutions according to the standards on which they were trained, since the progress of nations is linked to the merit of performance and education.
We often complain about institutional performance, and here at the academy we have succeeded in developing programs that will lead to positive outcomes and to building well-balanced personalities characterized by merit.
I welcome the female students of the Civil College of Medicine, and I am very pleased with what I hear about you. I say to the families of the female students that their daughters are benefiting, and that Allah the Almighty will protect them. Next year, there will be four new colleges at the academy in the fields of engineering, software, medicine, and physical therapy.
The state’s efforts at the academy aim to establish a model to be emulated for the true merit-based education that we need in Egypt, so that our sons and daughters may receive the highest level of education in the world, with a fair and objective evaluation system based on digitization, without human intervention or favoritism.
I note that the relevant ministries, such as Finance and Transport, for example, are the ones that develop the technical programs and curricula for their affiliated trainees at the academy. The academy merely provides the venue, standards, and academic pathway, without interfering in technical aspects. I hope that we can achieve real change.
I reaffirm that when we enable Egyptian universities and colleges to conclude twinning agreements with European and globally ranked universities, this will bring significant benefit. We have succeeded in this at times and failed at others, and self-review has shown that some universities did not achieve the objectives necessary for the development of the state.
I emphasize that without good education, we will not achieve our goals. This requires effort from those responsible for education, as well as from parents and families, who must refrain from seeking certificates for their children without ensuring they receive real education. I stress that we seek to establish a model that can be replicated and emulated.
I am keen to come to the academy to tell you that I stand by your side, and that Egypt awaits you, so that you, young men and women, may develop the state with your minds and your hands. This will not be achieved except through genuine human development based on merit, without favoritism, indulgence, negligence, or excess.
Regarding the domestic situation, I reassure you that it is improving, both economically and in terms of investment opportunities. In response to those who ask about the timing of reaping the results of economic reform efforts, I emphasize the need to work harder, exert greater effort, and strengthen the components of the Egyptian economy. I affirm that the state is in continuous development and progress, and that improvement is an ongoing process based on one generation handing over to the next. I reiterate that domestic conditions are stable, and that goods and basic needs are available despite global crises. We are in the month of Shaban and on the threshold of Ramadan, and all commodities are available, thanks be to Allah the Almighty.
As for the external situation, the entire world is experiencing crises, and there are many changes that will have an impact globally, and Egypt is part of this world.
With regard to the Gaza crisis, it would not have stopped except through the personal intervention of U.S. President Trump as a leader and peacemaker in the world, and through the peace plan he proposed. The United States’ announcement that the second phase of the war-cessation agreement in Gaza has entered into force is extremely important, following the handover of the remains of the last Israeli hostage to Israel. There is now a necessity and an opportunity to rebuild the Gaza Strip and to allow more humanitarian aid into the territory after a difficult period that lasted two years. I extended gratitude to President Trump when I met him recently in Davos, and I take this opportunity to thank him again.
There is another escalating issue that could affect the region, namely Iran’s crisis. We are making significant, quiet efforts to reach a dialogue to de-escalate. We are wary that this crisis could have severe repercussions and economic consequences on our regon, if fighting broke out.
I assure you that my visit reflects my concern for you and your affairs. I ask Allah the Almighty to protect every young man and woman in Egypt, and that you may live up to the hope that the state places in you. May Allah protect and safeguard you all.
May Allah’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.
