With the aim of boosting tourism, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce will organise the first Mediterranean cuisine festival, according to a statement from the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce. During the week-long event, food producers and chefs from hotels and restaurants in 14 Mediterranean countries will showcase their traditional foods, said Ahmed Hassan, vice chairman of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in the news release. The festival is one of the activities of the European Union's MedDiet project, which seeks to improve food traditions of the region. Hassan said that the event, which will be held every year in a different Mediterranean country, will act as a tool for developing food and agriculture exports, as well as encourage tourism. "The implementation phase of an Egypt-EU student exchange programme has also started," Hassan said. The semester-long programme will help school and university students acquire knowledge and learn foreign languages. The terms and conditions for participating in this programme are still being prepared, Hassan said. The EU has invested a total of EGP 260m in Alexandria in an effort to "support and modernise" the food, textile, tourism, education, solar energy, and environment sectors, Hassan said. Egypt is working with 76 partners from chambers of commerce and institutions in Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal, on the projects. During the third Euro-Mediterranean Conference and Exhibition on Donor Funding, Banking and Novel Funding Instruments in February, representatives from donor agencies, including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), announced plans to invest $22m in Mediterranean businesses. Earlier this month, the EU also launched an initiative to assist small and medium enterprises in Alexandria in coordination with the EBRD.
