Sisi urges officials to develop communications, tourism sectors

CAIRO – 2 April 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi met on Sunday with a number of officials to review current efforts implemented to improve Egypt’s communications and tourism sectors.

During his meeting with the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Yasser al-Qadi, and the head of the communications branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Ahmed al-Qamhawi, Sisi addressed the need to deploy mobile network coverage to newly constructed roads.

Sisi called on officials to continue efforts required for Egypt to attract investment inflows, ambassador Bassam Radi, the presidential spokesman, said. Sisi also called for raising Egyptian capabilities aiming to provide local and international markets with digital products.

Radi said the meeting discussed a number of issues, including development of the communications infrastructure.

The meeting reviewed efforts implemented to improve landline telephone services, according to Radi, in a bid to cover remote and border areas.

Officials also discussed a project to initiate a comprehensive national database that allows various state institutions to have full information about citizens through their national ID number, which would consequently help facilitate decision-making, Radi added.

During the meeting, Qadi discussed updates of a project he announced on March 11 to issue unified cards allowing citizens to access health insurance services online, Radi said.

Sisi also met with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Minister of Housing Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Antiquities Khaled Al Anany, Minister of Tourism Rania al-Mashat, and Chairman of the Armed Forces’ Engineering Authority Kamel al-Wazir.

The meeting discussed Egypt’s current tourism situation and how much tourism contributes to the country’s economy, Radi said.

During the meeting, Mashat addressed plans to promote Egyptian tourism, and how the plans would be implemented. The plans aim to encourage all forms of tourism and would, consequently, promote for sustainable tourism, Mashat said.

Anany addressed the issue of moving a number of artifacts to the Grand Egyptian Museum slated to open in the second half of 2018 with reportedly some 10,000 artifacts, Radi said.

He also discussed ongoing development of Rommel’s cave museum in Marsa Matrouh and Sohag National Museum set to open this month (April), according to Elham Salah, head of the Museums sector at the Ministry of Antiquities.

Sisi called on officials to carry on developing tourist attractions, using the most modern methods to preserve Egyptian antiquities, including storing them in proper places.