As Egypt prepares for the long-anticipated official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, received Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Egypt Office, Ebisawa Yo, for strategic talks on enhancing future cooperation between the two nations.
The meeting, held at GEM, aimed to explore new avenues for partnership to strengthen the museum’s position as the world’s largest hub for ancient Egyptian artifacts, as well as aleading regional and international center for Egyptology and museum sciences.
The discussions focused on sharing expertise, boosting scientific and cultural collaboration, building human capacities, and training specialists, thus promoting the museum’s research role and global brand.
The meeting was attended by CEO of the GEM Authority Ahmed Ghoneim, Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs, Mohamed Fahmy, along with other senior officials from JICA and Japanese museums.
Both sides underscored the museum’s central role as not only the largest depository of ancient Egyptian heritage, but a pioneering platform for advanced research and academic studies in Egyptology worldwide.
The discussions also included the implementation of the cooperation agreement signed earlier this month between GEM and JICA, which seeks to leverage modern technology and Japanese expertise in cultural heritage management and conservation.
The partnership will also deliver training programmes for GEM staff and postgraduate students enrolled in heritage conservation at the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology. These academic programmes are being developed collaboratively by Egyptian and Japanese experts.
Furthermore, the meeting tackled technical support in service management, ensuring that visitors would receive a world-class experience at the museum, and building up the administrative and operational skills of GEM’s human resources team.
The collaboration is set to advance the museum’s research strategy, positioning it as the leading international center for Egyptology studies and for training specialists in artifact restoration.
The Egyptian-Japanese relations are currently flourishing, especially in the fields of tourism and archaeology. This is reflected in several joint projects, memoranda of understanding, and annual Egyptian participation in Japan’s “Tourism Expo Japan, a statement by the Ministry said.
Tokyo is currently hosting the temporary exhibition, “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs”, further strengthening Egypt’s global cultural presence.
