http://j.people.com.cn/n3/2023/0628/c95952-20036937-3.html

On June 25 at the Space City Satellite Assembly, Integration, and Test (AIT) Center in Egypt, a prototype of the “Egypt-2” satellite was inaugurated. With this handover, Egypt became the first African country with satellite assembly, integration, and testing capabilities.

Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang said, “This year marks the 10th anniversary of the advocacy of ‘One Belt, One Road’. The Egyptian Aid-2 project is a symbolic achievement of the joint construction of One Belt, One Road by China and Egypt, and has significance as a milestone in the field of space cooperation between the two countries. Egypt became the first country for China to hand over an international satellite cooperation project abroad, the first country to conduct a large-scale test of a complete satellite outside of China, and the first African country to have full satellite AIT capability. China will train Egyptian personnel in project implementation. Egypt will be deeply involved in the design, testing, assembly, and evaluation of the satellite, and will have its own measurement and control. The related cooperation will lay a solid foundation for the development of Egypt’s space program and will also drive the development of space technology on the African continent.”

Sharif Sedki, chief executive officer of the Egyptian Space Agency, said, “The AIT Center with Chinese support will develop the localization of the satellite industry, and Egypt will now play a leading role in the transfer of satellite technology to Africa. Egypt-2 will be able to provide high-resolution images and contribute to the ‘Sustainable Development Strategy-Egypt Vision 2030′”.