The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities hosted a grand ceremony at the National Museum for Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) where 10 ministers and 53 foreign ambassadors with their spouses participated.
The ceremony held on Monday night marks the celebration of the World Heritage Day, which is observed every year on April 18, and coincides with the first anniversary of inaugurating NMEC at Cairo’s Fustat and the transfer of the Egyptian royal mummies from Tahrir Square to the new established museum.
Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait, Minister of Agriculture El Sayyed Al Quseir, Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram, Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Manar, Minister of Public Enterprises Hisham Tawfiq and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Ghada Wali attended the ceremony.
The guests enjoyed a show of Egyptian folklore which was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture.
Addressing the event, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El Anani reviewed the efforts exerted by the state to protect the archaeological sites registered on the world heritage list.
Egypt has registered eight sites on the World Heritage List, namely: the Memphis region and its cemeteries, Thebes and its cemeteries, Nubia, Historic Cairo, Saint Catherine, Abu Mina Monastery and Wadi El Hitan Reserve, he added.
He also underlined the latest developments in the Egyptian tourism sector over the past phase as Cairo has offered facilitations for more than 180 nationalities to enter Egypt on condition of holding a valid visa for the UK, US, Canada, Australia and the EU.
The minister also extended thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all security bodies concerned for their strenuous efforts as regards the facilitations to foreign nationals in a bid to realize a boom in the Egyptian tourism movement.
