CAIRO, Sept 16, 2018 – Co-operation for development between Egypt and African countries especially in the health sector picked renewed momentum on Sunday with the announcement that the prestigious Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation will partner with the Foreign Ministry in incorporating heart treatment services into Egyptian technical assistance programmes for African countries. News of this significant arrangement was unveiled following a meeting between Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and the world-famous Egyptian-British cardiothoracic surgeon Magdi Yacoub. The prospects of co-operation between the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation and the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD), an affiliate of the Foreign Ministry, were the matter for consideration at a meeting between Minister Shoukri and Dr Yacoub yesterday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said. The Aswan-based foundation is a centre of excellence in advanced cardio-surgery and therapy. The facility's founder, Sir Magdi Yacoub, is Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, and is also the founder and Director of Research at the Harefield Heart Science Centre (The Magdi Yacoub Institute) Yesterday's Shoukri-Yacoub meeting came as part of Egypt's efforts to enhance the health component in the EAPD assistance programmes especially including training courses and equipment, Spokesman Abu Zeid said. The Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation, he added, is a model at the level of all Africa since it has a capacity for qualifying cardiotherapy centres and training the cadres and staff of such centres. Egypt, the Foreign Ministry spokesman noted, stands keen on the transfer of developmental expertise to other countries of the continent. He made reference in this context to the foundation pioneering role as so represented by the launching in Ethiopia of a special unit for cardio-surgey and cardio-therapy.