CAIRO, Aug 12, 2018 - Young people are a centrepiece of Egypt's areas of interest and priority in the current stage, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said on Sunday. Since President Abdel Fattah El Sisi declared 2016 Egypt's Year of Youth, the country's young people have become the focus of state attention especially with regard to empowering them, Spokesman Abu Zeid said in a tweet on the occasion of the United Nations International Youth Day. The rising generation, Spokesman Abu Zeid said, is Egypt's solid foundation and the nation's driver for the future. The United Nations has designated August 12 as the International Youth Day – an annual occasion for highlighting the importance of youth to societies and paying larger attention to youth issues. "Safe Spaces for Youth" has been picked by the international organisation as the theme for events and activities to mark the occasion this year. The theme reflects one of the goals of the UN-endorsed Agenda for Sustainable Development. Goal 11 of this agenda which has been incorporated into national development programmes of countries of the world emphasises the need for integrating young people in sustainable development plans. The 2018 theme also reflects the international organisation's New Urban Agenda which stresses the need for the provision of public spaces for youth to enable them to interact with family and engage in constructive inter-generational dialogue.
