Prince Charles attends sustainability event on second day of Egypt visit

His wife Camilla visited Brooke animal hospital in Sayeda Zeinab district of Cairo

Britain's Prince Charles the Prince of Wales meets with Pope Tawadros II, head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, in Cairo. EPA

Prince Charles, accompanied by his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are greeted by officials and a children's quartet as they arrive at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt's northern Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria. AFP

Prince Charles stands next to the 'mahmal', the palanquin formerly used to transport the 'kiswa' protective cover that engulfs Islam's holiest shrine the Kaaba from Egypt to Mecca, during his visit to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. AFP

Britain's Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, accompanied by his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, sign the guestbook during their visit to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. AFP

Prince Charles visits the Jesuit Cultural Centre in Alexandria. Reuters

Camilla visits the Brooke Hospital for Animals in Cairo. EPA

Prince Charles poses for a photo with chairman of The Greek Campus Ahmed El Alfi, Egypt's Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad and other attendees, as he visits the GrEEK Campus workspace for the Sustainable Markets Initiative event in Tahrir Square. Getty Images

The Prince of Wales and his wife arrive at Cairo airport in Egypt from Jordan, on the third day of their tour of the Middle East.

Camilla leaves the royal flight at Cairo airport.

Prince Charles and Camilla were met at Cairo airport by Gareth Bayley, the UK ambassador to Egypt, and his wife, Sara Fawcett.

Prince Charles with Gareth Bayley, the UK ambassador to Egypt, after his arrival in Egypt.

Camilla, left, is welcomed by Entissar Amer, the wife of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, at the presidential palace in Cairo. Reuters

Prince Charles and Camilla meet President El Sisi and Ms Amer at Al-Ittahadiya Palace in Cairo.

Camila arrives to meet President El Sisi and his wife at Al-Ittahadiya Palace.

Prince Charles and President El Sisi at Al-Ittahadiya Palace.

Charles and Camilla arriving at Al-Ittahadiya Palace.

Prince Charles and Camilla on the third day of their tour of the Middle East.

Camilla in the courtyard of Al Azhar Mosque. EPA

Camilla arrives at Al-Ittihadiya Palace. Reuters

Prince Charles meets Egypt's Antiquities and Tourism Minister Khaled al-Anany. Reuters

Egyptian Islamic scholar and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar mosque, Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayeb, right, meets Prince Charles, left, at the mosque in Cairo. AFP

The Grand Imam, centre left, receives Prince Charles, centre-right, and Camilla, centre, upon their arrival at the mosque. AFP

The Grand Imam invites Prince Charles and his wife Camilla to the courtyard of the mosque. EPA

Charles and Camilla visit the Giza Pyramids plateau on the western outskirts of Cairo. AFP

Prince Charles surrounded by students during his visit to Al Azhar Mosque. AFP

The Grand Imam of Al Azhar Mosque, Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayeb, right, meets Prince Charles. left. AFP

Prince Charles and Camilla at Al Azhar Mosque, the oldest Sunni institution in the Muslim world, with the Grand Imam, left, and the Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Alexandria Samy Fawzy, right. AP

Prince Charles and Camilla, left, at the Al Azhar Mosque. AFP

Charles and Camilla at the Giza Pyramids plateau. AFP

Charles and Camilla pass the Sphinx at the Giza Pyramids plateau. AFP

Charles and Camilla in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Reuters

Charles and Camilla next to the Great Sphinx of Giza on the third day of their tour of the Middle East. Getty Images

The royal couple are on an official visit to Egypt as part of their first royal tour since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. EPA

Prince Charles and Camilla with Egypt's Antiquities and Tourism Minister Khaled al-Anany near the Pyramids of Giza. Getty Images

Prince Charles surrounded by students on a visit to Al Azhar Mosque in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. AFP

Prince Charles is greeted by Egypt's Environment Minister, Dr Yasmine Fouad, on a visit to a Sustainable Markets Initiative event in Tahrir Square, downtown Cairo. Reuters

Prince Charles in Tahrir Square, downtown Cairo, during his visit to the Middle East. Reuters

Prince Charles at a round table meeting on a visit to the GrEEK Campus workspace for the Sustainable Markets Initiative in Tahrir Square, Cairo. Reuters

The Prince of Wales at the Sustainable Markets Initiative in Tahrir Square. Reuters

Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla attended separate events in Cairo on Friday, the second day of their visit to the Egyptian capital. While Charles visited a sustainability event to promote climate change co-operation, one of the main agendas of his trip, Camilla visited a nearby animal hospital.

The Prince of Wales met Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad and other prominent officials at an event organised by the Sustainable Markets Initiative at the American University in Greek Campus, Cairo. He also took part in a roundtable discussion on climate change, attended by Ms Fouad and Greek Campus chairman Ahmed El Alfi.

Meanwhile, Camilla visited the Brooke Hospital for Animals in the Sayeda Zeinab district. Photographs of the duchess showed her petting a donkey at the hospital.

The royal visit, part of a Middle East tour that began in Jordan this week, has been touted as a passing of the UN Climate Change Conference baton, which ended its 26th conference in Glasgow last week and is set to come to Egypt for its 27th next year.

“We have to be the custodians of a truth that our ancestors understood so well, that we are, in actual fact, part of the natural world, not separate from it, and above all it is our duty to do all in our power to protect nature rather than testing her to literal destruction,” Prince Charles said at a press event overlooking the Giza pyramids on Thursday night.

A planned visit on Friday to the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, moored off the coast of Alexandria, was cancelled due to "operational reasons" after one of its F35 fighter jets crashed into the Mediterranean on Wednesday.

An extensive multination search is being mounted for the aircraft. The pilot ejected safely and was returned to the aircraft carrier.

The royal couple arrived in Cairo on Thursday on their first visit to Egypt since 2006, and were received at the Al Ittihadiya presidential palace by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and first lady Entissar El Sisi.

In a nod to another of Charles’s agendas, religious inclusivity, the couple visited Al Azhar.

The Prince of Wales helped start a British academic scholarship programme, which allows Al Azhar scholars to pursue degrees in Islamic studies at British universities before returning to Al Azhar to work as faculty members.

The couple then headed to the pyramids of Giza, the Egyptian capital’s most popular tourist attraction.

The Giza site was not cleared of tourists, however.

Camel drivers and vendors were instructed to leave the area by 2pm, one of them told The National., but tourists were allowed to remain to highlight the recovery of the country’s tourism sector.

The royal visit led to more congested than usual on the capital's streets on Thursday, as many main roads were closed to secure the couple's route through the city.

Several markets were also closed for security reasons as the royals visited Al Azhar.