President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended on Saturday the graduation ceremony of a new batch of police cadets at the premises of the Police Academy in New Cairo district. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Defence and Military Production Mohamed Zaki, Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfik and Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark Diocese were among those present at the ceremony. Ministers and senior state officials also attended the ceremony. The national anthem was played upon the arrival of President El-Sisi at the academy Addressing the ceremony, Police Academy President Ahmed Ibrahim stressed the determination of police cadets to offer sacrifices while defending their homeland. He described the graduation ceremony as a decisive moment that marks an annual feast for the police academy where president El-Sisi shared with cadets their happiness in graduating. The academy head, meanwhile, thanked Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik for overseeing Egypt's path to security during a crucial stage, besides providing support for the academy in enhancing its academic system "We have been in race against time to achieve a quantum leap in the field of training in order to qualify policemen to have distinguished capabilities," Police Academy chief Maj. General Ahmed Ibrahim said. He added that the academy has adopted joint training which brought together the students of both police and military academies, given the state's mounting security needs as well as the ongoing anti-terror efforts. The academy celebrates the graduation of 1,200 police cadets, including 21 Palestinian graduates, the head of the academy noted. More to follow