The Russian Cultural Centre in Cairo honoured its Director of Cultural Activities Sherif Gad on the 30th anniversary of assuming his position during a ceremony held at the centre in Dokki, Giza on 23 May. The ceremony was chaired by the cultural centre's director and advisor to the Russian Embassy Aleksey Tevanyan and was attended by the Russian Ambassador in Egypt Sergei Kirpichenko and During the event, Ambassador Kirpichenko said that Gad is unmatched in his contribution to the development of Egyptian-Russian relations. Kirpichenko said that Gad "works in this very sensitive position during an important historical period; he is an eyewitness to the history of these bilateral relations and his position has enabled him to deal with high profile figures, whether Russians or Egyptians." The ambassador also said that Gad "has contributed positively to the rapid and continuous development between the two sides," and advised him to start writing his autobiography. The event was also attended by a large number of diplomats, public figures and artists, including former dean of the Faculty of El-Alsun at Ain Shams University Makarem El-Ghamry and former member of the Supreme Constitutional Court Tahani El-Gebaly. Also present was Kazakh Ambassador to Egypt Arman Isagaliev, who expressed his great appreciation for the role Gad has played in supporting Egyptian-Kazakh relations through his position as president of the Egyptian Association of Russian and Soviet University Graduates and his membership in the board of directors of the Kazakh-Egyptian Friendship Society. Abdel-Hakim Gamal Abdel-Nasser, the son of former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, praised during the event the important role played by the Russian Cultural Centre in promoting the Russian culture in Egypt and the relentless efforts by Gad in supporting the Egyptian-Russian relations. “The family of late president Abdel-Nasser considers Sherif Gad not only one of its friends, but one of its members,” Abdel-Nasser said. The ceremony was moderated by Dr Mohamed Nasr El-Gebaly, head of the Russian Language Department at the Faculty of El-Alsun, Ain Shams University. El-Gebaly concluded the event by reading a letter from Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal envoy to the Middle East and deputy foreign minister, where he congratulated Gad by saying, “For many years you worked tirelessly to support the cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Egypt." "Your honourable efforts have yielded concrete results that have doubled the number of genuine supporters who support the deep friendly relations that have long been established between our two countries and our peoples.” Gad thanked the ambassadors and the attendees for joining in the celebration, stressing that he is lucky for the support of his friends and that he is thrilled to bear the fruits of efforts to promote cultural relations with such an important country that has stood beside Egypt in times of peace, war and development. Gad also thanked his family and the Russian Centre for their support in helping him reach this moment. He expressed thanks to the ambassador and the director of the centre for renewing their trust in him for a new period as director of the Russian Centre's cultural activity. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
