Cairo – Egypt’s National Media Authority has announced a landmark plan to produce television programs in 23 world languages, aiming to internationalise Egyptian media and strengthen cultural ties across continents.
Ahmed El-Muslimani, President of the National Media Authority, revealed that the first batch of programs has already been completed in African languages including Swahili, Amharic, and Fula, with production ongoing in other languages. The move aligns with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s vision to expand Egypt’s cultural and media influence globally, especially in Africa.
The inaugural episode of the international service, hosted by Shafie Mbenda from Egypt’s Foreign Broadcast Service, will be presented in Swahili and spotlight the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Cairo. It will air on Egypt’s Channel One with Arabic subtitles, while Nile TV will broadcast the program with English and French subtitles for broader accessibility.
The initiative divides programming into regional tracks, with African languages collectively grouped under the “Egypt–Africa” banner. Content will be produced in a wide array of languages including Swahili, Amharic, Afar, Somali, Hausa, Fula, English, French, Italian, Albanian, German, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Indonesian, Turkish, Persian, Pashto, Dari, Urdu, and Uzbek.
El-Muslimani emphasised that this strategy seeks to share Egypt’s ideas, heritage, and culture with diverse global audiences, reinforcing the country’s role as a cultural bridge.
