Cairo: Alaa Farouk, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, announced that the New Administrative Capital is now a disease-free area for equine infectious diseases. This follows the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) publishing the decision on its official page.
According to State Information Service Egypt, Farouk stated that this announcement crowns the ministry’s efforts in implementing presidential directives to develop the horse industry in the Arab Republic of Egypt and aims to restore the country’s leading position in this field at all levels. The New Administrative Capital has been declared a disease-free zone for equine infectious diseases and an international centre for all Olympic and international equestrian events at both the Egyptian Equestrian Club and the Egyptian stables, as well as the Military Academy’s equestrian club in the New Administrative Capital.
This announcement comes in light of presidential directives and as a continuation of the strategic plan being implement
ed by the General Authority for Veterinary Services in collaboration with the Veterinary Services Department of the Armed Forces and the Agricultural Research Centre, represented by the Animal Health Research Institute. Their goal is to declare the country free from infectious diseases affecting the horse industry in Egypt.
The achievement was recently crowned with the submission of a high-level technical file to the WOAH, which includes the strategic measures planned and implemented to maintain the health of the equine species and to keep Egypt free from equine diseases in accordance with the provisions of the Animal Health Code and international standards set by the WOAH, as well as the guidelines for establishing and managing disease-free areas for horses issued by the organization in 2019.
In the same context, Dr. Moataz Shaheen, the head of the General Authority for Veterinary Services, along with all the staff of the authority and its directorates, extended their sincere congratulations and thanks to
Minister Alaa Farouk and Engineer Mostafa El-Sayed, the Deputy Minister, for this significant achievement that Egypt has accomplished with professionalism and in record time. He added that the General Authority for Veterinary Services spares no effort in executing its duties to protect livestock from infectious and epidemic diseases and to provide safe and healthy food for the Egyptian citizen, working with partners under the One Health umbrella to achieve Egyptian food security, expressing pride in the authority and all its employees for the announcement of the New Administrative Capital as a disease-free area for equine infectious diseases.