Sisi: State sustaining efforts to preserve heritage

UNESCO chief: Golden Parade beamed message of Egypt’s care antiquities

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has reiterated the state’s orientation and continuous efforts to protect Egyptian antiquities and present them in the best possible way to Egyptians as well as to visitors from all over the world.

The President’s remarks came during his meeting Sunday with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in the presence of Minister of Tourism Khaled Al-Anani and Minister of Culture Enas Abdel Dayem, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said.

During the meeting, the President affirmed that the state’s executive steps in this context followed a balanced path between development efforts and the preservation of the value and safety of unique archaeological sites, including the development of all historical areas in Cairo, so that the capital of Egypt becomes an open museum that reflects the magnanimity of the civilization of ancient Egypt and contemporary life.

Speaking to the UNESCO chief, the Egyptian leader expressed appreciation of the support that the international organization extends to the sectors of education, culture and science at regional and global levels. President Sisi also lauded UNESCO’s efforts to promote and protect antiquities and heritage in Egypt and around the world.

The President, meanwhile, stressed the importance that the state attaches to strengthening cooperation relations with the UNESCO as an extension of the decades-long partnership.  In this context, the President highlighted Egypt’s tremendous efforts over the past years to bring about a qualitative leap preserving the rich Egyptian heritage and civilization.

These endeavors included the development of museums and the establishment of a new chain of museums nationwide to display the largest possible number of Egyptian antiquities as well as the restoration of the efficiency of archaeological regulatory part of the antiquities sector in Egypt.

For her part, UNESCO Director-General Azoulay said that the parade of royal mummies carried a message to the world about Egypt’s efforts under the leadership of President Sisi in preserving the country’s very rich and multi-epochal heritage as an integral part of the world heritage and as a civilizational beacon for the whole world.

The UNESCO chief also expressed the organization’s aspiration to continue developing its cooperation with Egypt as an extension of the long course of close cooperation between the two sides, especially in the field of salvaging Egyptian antiquities in the Nubia area in the middle of the past century. Such co-operation, she noted, constitutes a model of performance that UNESCO cherishes as a unique experience in the history of the organization’s work and activity.