Representatives from Egypt’s Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA) attended Murdoch University in Western Australia to strengthen Egypt’s mining and resources sector.
The collaboration delivers a new capacity development program that will translate Western Australia’s mining expertise into support for Egypt through training, applied research, policy development, and industry engagement.
The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi and the first cohort of MRMIA professionals attended a traditional smoking ceremony by Olman Walley at Murdoch University last Thursday (3 September).
The launch event was attended by senior Egyptian officials, representatives of the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Australian Embassy in Egypt representatives.
Professor Deborah Gare, Pro Vice Chancellor of the College of Law, Arts and Social Sciences, says the program is centred around four pillars.
The pillars include critical minerals opportunity assessment; regulatory and governance reform; sustainable operations and social licence; and mining sector growth and investment readiness.
Gare says Murdoch University is “immensely proud” to welcome the first cohort of MRMIA professionals to campus.
“This collaboration reflects the best of international education; shared challenges, mutual learning, applied expertise, and long-term institutional partnership,” Gare says.
“Western Australia’s mining sector provides a powerful living classroom, and Murdoch University’s role is to help translate that experience into practical learning that supports Egypt’s priorities for its own resources sector.”
Murdoch University expects the program to develop into a broader partnership with MRMIA, creating stronger professional networks, future research collaborations, training opportunities, degree pathways, and engagement through the Egypt Mining Forum.
Academic lead Olabisi Imonitie says the program is a co-creation with MRMIA and the Western Australian Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration to ensure learning is “grounded in Egypt’s priorities while drawing on local experience and expertise”.
“This program is part of our commitment to supporting Minister Badawi’s vision for the transformation of Egypt’s mining sector,” Imonitie says.
“Seeing that commitment come to life here at Murdoch, with the minister, his delegation, and our first cohort was a genuinely proud moment for our team.
“The real value of international capacity development is not about transferring one country’s model to another. It is about creating the conditions for people to learn from each other, interrogate what works, and translate that knowledge into solutions that respond to their own context.
“Ultimately, the measure of success will not simply be what participants learn during the program, but what becomes possible because of the relationships, capability, and institutional connections built through it.”
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Main Image: Murdoch University
