ATHENS – President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos met on Tuesday with the Director of the Board of the Centre for Hellenistic Studies at the Library of Alexandria, Mostafa EL Feki, as well as UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador and founder of the Alexandria Library’s Centre for Hellenistic Studies, Marianna Vardinoyannis.

After welcoming Mostafa El Feki, he noted: For the Greeks, the New Library of Alexandria represents the extension and symbolises the spirit of the iconic Old Library of Alexandria. This served as another ‘Lighthouse of Alexandria’, a beacon of global learning and culture. Against this background, the New Library of Alexandria can and should contribute to the progress of global culture, in particular as a “centre” for the Dialogue of Cultures … and in your capacity as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alexandria Library’s Centre of Hellenistic Studies, I want to assure you of the enormous importance this Centre has for Greece.”

On his part, Mostafa El Feki stressed: “We really feel that the situation here is very good for us. Greece is the country closest to Egypt in terms of culture as well as of course geography … We have already done a lot in our Centere and we hope that what the President of the country has started in our country, that is a reorganisation of Alexandria, will be completed. In this context we are thinking of making use of a palace, the Antoniadis Mansion, which was built over 100 years in Alexandria and which may also become the seat of the Dialogue of Cultures. If this is achieved, then of course the two pillars of this Dialogue will be Greece and Egypt. Of course, next week there will be a meeting with government officials and officials from the province, who are discussing how to further activate the spirit of Greece. Because you have to know that Greece is always very welcome in our country. We all remember what the Greeks have to offer in our country and what they have done for us.”