Engineer Sherif El-Sherbiny, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, received Lenka Mihaliková, the Slovak Ambassador to Cairo, to discuss prospects for mutual cooperation in the field of smart city development and the available investment opportunities in new cities, especially fourth-generation cities. The meeting was attended by officials from the ministry.
Engineer Sherif El-Sherbiny began the meeting by welcoming Ambassador Lenka Mihaliková and expressed his appreciation for the Slovak delegation’s participation in the 12th session of the World Urban Forum, which was held in Cairo under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi last November.
He also referred to the launch of the National Smart Cities Strategy during the forum, emphasizing Egypt’s strong focus on establishing and developing a new generation of cities—referred to as “fourth-generation” cities. These cities are characterized as smart and sustainable, offering a wide range of investment opportunities in the field of urban development, as well as industrial zones designed to attract and localize modern technologies.
The Minister of Housing affirmed that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directives focus on enhancing Egyptian industry and supporting local products through partnerships between Egyptian and international companies to transfer advanced technologies. He explained that the ministry supports foreign direct investment and the localization of industries within the construction sector and in water and wastewater projects.
For her part, Slovak Ambassador Lenka Mihaliková expressed her admiration for Egypt’s urban renaissance and her desire to strengthen cooperation with the Egyptian side. She also extended an official invitation to Engineer Sherif El-Sherbiny to participate in the “Smart Cities Agenda Forum” scheduled to take place in Slovakia in April 2025.