Egypt's Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar inaugurated on Monday the Egyptian-Chinese Joint Laboratory for Renewable Energy at the Regional Development Research Center of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) in Sohag. State Minister of Military Production Mohamed El-Assar, president of the academy Mahmoud Sakr and Sohag Governor Ahmed El-Ansari attended the opening ceremony along with several officials from other state ministries, chiefs of universities and research centres, as well as a host of Chinese officials. The first-of-its-kind lab specialises in developing solar or photovoltaic cells and improving solar energy production and efficiency at the regional level, Sakr said. The academy plans to transform the Karaman Island, where the newly opened lab is located, into a regional hub for innovation and clean energy development, Sakr added, noting that it is the first Egyptian research station in the Silk Road initiative.