Cairo Opera House Director Samir Farag signed a cooperation agreement with the director of the Austrian Conservatoire last week to exchange their respective ballet troupes for shows in both Egypt and Austria. The agreement was signed in the presence of Austrian Ambassador to Egypt Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff and Cairo Opera Ballet Company Director Abdel-Moneim Kamel. Within the framework of this cooperation, the Opera Ballet Company will feature three shows: Zorba, Egyptian Nights and Despite of Everything on 9, 10 and 11 July at the Vienna theatre. The Cairo Opera House, meanwhile, will introduce Egyptian audiences to the Austrian Ballet Company next year. * The Italian Embassy organised a Minya Promotion Week from 25-31 March, my sweets. In the presence of Minya Governor Hassan Hemeida and my dear friend the Italian Ambassador to Egypt Antonio Badini, Minyan artists Souad Amer, Rania Karam, Mahmoud Khalil, Hassan El-Sharq, and Fathi Edris launched the week with an art exhibition showcasing their work. The event also featured handicrafts and traditional food from the region, as well as a dance performance by the Minya folk dance troupe at the Cairo Opera House's Small Hall. A seminar titled "Minya under the spotlight: The possibility of promoting the governorate's tourism" and another promoting Minya's valuable archaeological sites also took place. Guido Benevento, head of the Italian Cooperation for Development Office, also enlightened the audience with a Power Point presentation of cooperative projects implemented in Minya. The discussion included the participation of several institutions: the National Council for Women, as well as the ministries of health, agriculture, social affairs, education and environmental affairs. * It seems, my dears, that my dynamic friend, the Italian Ambassador to Egypt Antonio Badini, has been very busy recently; he paid a two-day visit to Alexandria and met its Governor Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub and Chairman of the Port Authority Mohamed Hamed Youssef. Talks with both officials focussed on the development of the so-called "Green Corridor", an initiative launched three years ago by the Italian agriculture minister during his visit to Egypt, with the aim of establishing a permanent and effective trade channel for Egyptian produce to reach Italian and European markets. During the visit, Badini also gave a lecture at the Alexandria Business Association (ABA) as part of the "Egyptian-Italian International Day" organised by the ABA. Meetings with Bibliotheca Alexandrina Director Ismail Serageddin, and the Vicar Apostolic of Alexandria Giuseppe Bausardo were also on the agenda. Badini also visited Italian tire company Pirelli's plant, and spoke with Giovanni Cavallotti, the general manager of the company's Alexandria branch. The new Indian Ambassador to Egypt, Rajendra Singh Rathore, has just arrived in Cairo. A career diplomat, Rathore brings 35 years of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to his new post. Egypt is his fifth assignment as Head of Mission and his ninth as a diplomat. Until recently, he was India's High Commissioner to Australia. He has served in most parts of the world including South-East Asia, North America, Latin America, Europe, and Iran. Ambassador Rathore is married to Mrs Renu Rathore, and they have two daughters. He is a keen golfer who also plays tennis and bridge. Egypt's Nobel laureate Ahmed Zeweil will be speaking at the Cairo Opera House's Small Hall next Thursday about humanity's technological future. The lecture is being organised by the Opera's Salon, and will also feature a discussion period moderated by Osama Heikal. Following Zeweil 's talk, the National Arabic Music Ensemble, conducted by Selim Sahab, will perform classics by Umm Kulthoum, Abdel-Halim Hafez and Mohamed Abdel-Wahab. * Tomorrow, from 11am to 5pm at High Heels, the Nile Hilton is hosting its annual Spring Egg Hunt. As usual, the event is a fine opportunity for children, and their parents, to enjoy a fun filled day of egg hunting, egg painting, face painting, and plenty of other fun activities. * For the first time, Al-Hanager Arts Centre hosted a fashion show by designer Dora Krincy, who showcased cocktail dresses and wedding gowns. Polish Ambassador to Egypt Jan Naktanski and Al-Hanager director Hoda Wasfi were among those who attended the show. The Gumhouriya Theatre in Abdin, meanwhile, hosted a lovely jewellery exhibition recently, my loves, featuring the exquisite work of four gifted designers: Nermin Farouk, Nehal Allam, Nagwa Mahdi and Yasmin Zaki. The show was simply called "A Beginning". And that, my dears, is the end.
