Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi (2nd L, Front) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (1st L, Front) attend the opening ceremony of the World Youth Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Dec. 14, 2019. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Saturday the third edition of Egypt's annual World Youth Forum (WYF) at the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. (Xinhua/Li Binian)
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Saturday the third edition of Egypt's annual World Youth Forum (WYF) at the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, with several topics to be thoroughly discussed during the four-day international event.
"From the blessed lands of Sinai, I announce the inauguration of the third edition of the World Youth Forum," said the Egyptian president in his opening speech.
He expressed hope that the forum would be a platform for peace and love and constructive dialogue for a better future.
The forum, which gathers some 7,000 young people from over 100 countries including China, will tackle a number of topics such as industrial revolution, food security, the Union for the Mediterranean, environmental challenges, artificial intelligence, block chain technology, women empowerment and art and cinema.
The WYF is also attended by a number of heads of states, official delegations and senior officials from different countries.
The WFY, which was first inaugurated in 2017, is a platform built by promising youth and sends a message of peace, prosperity, harmony, and progress to the entire world.
The forum is also a youth-to-youth hub that gathers promising artists from all over the world to play their outstanding talents and express their cultures through a wide range of art-related activities, including music, acting/theatre, stand-up comedy, painting, dance.
In 2018, the first edition of World Youth Theatre gathered 132 performers from 23 countries.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Li Yong, hailed Egypt for organizing the WYF, noting that "now half of the world's population is under 30, so caring for youth is necessary and inevitable."
"We are looking for comprehensive and sustainable development," he said. "Our strategies for youth reflect this and we try to integrate and develop youth and increase employment rates."
Li stressed that the WYF comes in line with the peace and security axes of the United Nations to create prosperity throughout the world.
