Egypt’s tourism & antiquities min. convenes with Italian ambassador to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation in tourism, archaeological fields

CAIRO – 26 May 2022: Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled el-Enany received in his office at the ministry’s headquarters Italian Ambassador to Cairo Michele Quaroni, to discuss enhancing means of cooperation between the two countries in the tourism and archaeological fields, and tackle proposals to push more Italian tourist traffic to Egypt.

The meeting was attended by Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri; Head of the Museums Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Moamen Othman; Director General of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Sabah Abdel Razek; and Minister Plenipotentiary Dalia Abdel Fattah, General Supervisor of the General Administration of International Relations and Agreements in the Ministry.

Enani began the meeting by welcoming the ambassador, and stressing the strong relations between Egypt and Italy, especially in light of the bilateral cooperation in many fields, including tourism and antiquities.

During the meeting, the results of Enany’s June visit to the Italian capital were reviewed. This in addition to discussing the outcomes of the extensive meetings he held with Italian tour operators, tourism associations and companies to investigate ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism.

For his part, the Italian ambassador commended the Egyptian state's efforts to support tourism in Egypt. The ambassador pointed out the recent increase in the number of Italian tourists visiting the country, and highlighted the increasing Italian demand for visiting Egyptian tourist destinations.

Some proposals for cooperation in archaeological projects at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir and Historic Cairo were also discussed, in addition to the proposal for the participation of Italian archaeological missions in the ministry's celebrations in 2022, marking the 200th anniversary of the deciphering of ancient Egyptian writing and the emergence of Egyptology.

It was also mentioned in the meeting that the School of Egyptian Civilization will start its first session next September, to acquaint Egyptians as well as foreign residents, who are passionate about the ancient Egyptian civilization, with Egypt's history, antiquities, hieroglyphic writing, arts, Islamic and Coptic architecture, and ancient art.