Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Minister of Tourism & Antiquities, WTO Sec-Gen Visit NMEC


Tue 25 Aug 2020 | 12:12 AM
Ali Abu Dashish

Today, Monday, Dr. Khalid Al-Anani, Minister of Tourism & Antiquities, and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), and his accompanying delegation visited the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) AT Fustat District, south to Cairo.

Pololikashvili has started a visit to Egypt at the head of a delegation of officials of the organization concerned with cooperation International, technical and Middle East region.

The visit began with a tour of the museum’s outer panorama area on Lake Ain Al Sira, then the main hall, and the changing exhibition hall, which displays 4 main traditional crafts (pottery, weaving, carpentry, and jewelry).

During the visit, Pololikashvili expressed his admiration for the greatness and beauty he saw in the museum, especially the external panorama area on the magnificent lake.

The WTO Secretary-General pointed out that this museum will not be an archaeological museum only, but an integrated cultural and entertainment edifice that tells the different aspects of Egyptian civilization.

The museum includes a theater, a cinema, a group of cafeterias, and a museum education school for children, which contributes to achieving sustainable development.

Museums and cultural centers have a major role in sustainable development by highlighting social and cultural changes in society.

There are great preparations being made in full swing for the completion of all works in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization for its imminent opening.

This museum is considered one of the most important projects undertaken by the Egyptian state and is carried out in cooperation with UNESCO to become one of the largest museums of civilization in Egypt and the Middle East with a new vision of the ancient Egyptian heritage.

It includes all aspects of the richness and persity of Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times to the present day.

After this tour, Dr. Al-Anani and Pololikashvili held a bilateral meeting attended by a number of senior officials of the ministry and the delegation accompanying the Secretary-General.

During that meeting a number of important issues were discussed that would contribute to supporting the tourism sector and enhancing joint cooperation between the Ministry and the WTO over the next period.

At the beginning of the meeting, Pololikashvili expressed the organization's readiness to provide full support to Egypt to help it return to the incoming tourism to its previous state before the emerging of the Coronavirus crisis.

Pololikashvili praised what he saw on the ground of the quality in implementing the precautionary measures and health safety controls applied in Egypt.

Pololikashvili stressed that Egypt is safe and all people of the world should visit it to enjoy its picturesque beaches and ancient civilization.

Several proposals were discussed, during the meeting including the proposal to establish an academy and educational center for youth in Egypt, in addition to organize a tourism conference in cooperation with the organization in the near future to discuss and present ideas and policies to support the tourism sector in Egypt.

During the meeting, Dr. Al-Anani pointed out the importance of benefiting from important international experiences such as those in Spain, in order to promote tourism to Egypt, especially the religious tourism, and pay attention to this file, given the distinctive effects that Egypt contains.

Contributed by Ahmed Moamar