Nikita Ganzha: My internship at the Trade Representation of Russia in Cairo

Nikita Ganzha, student of the Middle East section of the HSE School of Asian Studies, told about his internship at the Trade Representation of Russia in Cairo.

I was an intern in the Economic Department of the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in the Arab Republic of Egypt in January-February 2020.

This is not my first visit to Cairo – last summer I studied Arabic here, so I had the opportunity to get involved in the work from the first days of my time in Egypt. My tasks included daily monitoring of print and digital sources in Arabic and English, as well as interpretation and translation into Russian, English and Arabic. Also, on the instructions of the management of the Trade Representatiion office, I was preparing analytical materials on the activities of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Egypt and helped in resolving small business issues in contacts with Egyptian suppliers of goods and services.

During the internship at the Trade Representation office, I was able to use the knowledge gained at the University (primarily in the field of Arabic and international economic relations) and gain new useful practical skills of working in Russian foreign institutions. I would also like to thank the professors and the administrative staff of the Faculty, particularly the School of Asian Studies, for their support.

Cairo has quite a busy social life, and I visited Cairo Opera House several times – the main concert and theater stage in Egypt. Various events take place there every day, and I enjoyed attending Beethoven’s concerts performed by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, as well as the ballet “Anna Karenina” performed by Balletto di Milano. It also turned out very well to go to Alexandria on one of the off days.

Cairo is a huge, vibrant, often controversial city, and everyone who appears there treats it in their own way. But there is no doubt that this city is of extreme interest, being the key to the state which is the largest on the African continent in cultural, political, military and economic terms.