Borghino spoke about the importance of copyright at a session during the book fair’s professional program. Egypt is embarking on a review of its IP legislation in a drive towards encouraging creativity and economy innovation and Borghino argued that strong copyright laws that both incentivized creators and punished pirates are critical to any framework for a modern, knowledge-led economy. Borghino delivered the same message at meetings with the Egyptian Minister for Culture Neveen Al-Kilany, and the Head of the General Egyptian Book Organization, Dr Ahmed Bahi Aldin Alassasy. The IPA has offered to help the Egyptian authorities in the review of their copyright laws and Borghino stressed that publishers should be at the centre of any review process.
While in Cairo, Borghino worked with Ahmed Rashad, the new Egyptian member of the IPA Executive Committee who organised the meetings with Al-Kilany and Alassasy, Sherif Bakr the Egyptian member of the IPA Freedom to Publish Committee, Said Abdo the President of the Egyptian Publishers Association, and Mohamed Rashad and Bachar Chebaro the President and Secretary General, respectively, of the Arab Publishers Association. Borghino also met with representatives of other IPA members from Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tunisia. And he met with former IPA Vice President Ibrahim El Moallem and the 2019 Prix Voltaire laureate, Khaled Lotfy.