Ashraf AboArafe
The High Dam Builders Association (HDBA), in cooperation with the Russian Cultural Center in Cairo and sponsored by the Egyptian-Russian Friendship Association, organized a celebration marking the 60th anniversary of the diversion of the Nile River during the construction of the High Dam Project.
The celebration was attended by Engineer Abdel Hakim Abdel Nasser, son of the leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, who adopted the project, and it became the most important engineering project of the twentieth century.
Also present were Dr. Ibrahim Kamel, President of the Egyptian-Russian Friendship Society, Engineer Sabry El-Ashmawy, President of the Dam Builders Association, Denis Bronnikov, representative of Murad Gatin, Director of the Russian Cultural Centers in Egypt, and Dr. Fathi Tugan, Secretary-General of the Association of Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities, and journalist writer/ Muhammad Al-Shafi’i, and Dr. Magda Shorba, member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.
The celebration was moderated by Sherif Gad, Secretary General of the Egyptian-Russian Friendship Association.
In his speech, engineer Abdel Hakim Abdel Nasser pointed out that the dam project was a national project in which the will of the political leadership and the people united, and they struggled to achieve the dream. Hakim congratulated the dam builders on this great achievement in light of the celebration of the sixtieth jubilee of diverting the course of the Nile River.
Addressing the dam builders, Dr. Ibrahim Kamel stressed that the Egyptian people owe you this historic achievement that placed Egypt in an advanced position economically.
Engineer Sabry Al-Ashmawy pointed to the role of the Russian partner who stood by Egypt during the construction phase and shared the joy of achievement.
Sherif Gad pointed out that the continued popular interest over the decades in the May celebration commemorating the diversion of the river’s course, and the January celebration commemorating the laying of the foundation stone, and then the completion of the High Dam project, reflects the status of this achievement among the Egyptian people.
The celebration included honoring the builders of the High Dam with the shield of the Egyptian-Russian Friendship Association, and a number of the deceased were also honored in the presence of their children and grandchildren. In conclusion, the Russian House Chorale Band, under the supervision of Louisa Plidzianets, presented a concert with a collection of the most famous Russian and Arabic songs.
