Mr. Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and antiquities, received Dr. Nuria Sanz, director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Cairo and her accompanying delegation at his office at the ministry’s headquarters in the new administrative capital, to discuss ways to strengthen joint cooperation between the ministry and the organization in the field of archaeological work.
He praised the strong bilateral relations between the two sides in the field of preserving antiquities and human heritage, and expressed full readiness to strengthen this cooperation further in the coming period.
During the meeting, they reviewed the history of cooperation relations between Egypt and UNESCO since the start of the campaign to save the Antiquities of Nubia in the sixties of the last century, in addition to talking about the joint cooperation frameworks that are being worked on between the ministry and the UNESCO Regional Office in Cairo, including the project to develop and raise the efficiency of the means of displaying and interpreting archaeological sites registered on the World Heritage List, museums and guideposts at archaeological sites, the restoration of the Tomb K22 of King Amenhotep III in the valley of the Kings in Luxor and qualifying the route of the visit in preparation for its opening.
It was also stressed to continue supporting the ministry’s efforts in paying attention to the human element and developing and building the capabilities of the ministry’s employees through workshops and training courses provided by the UNESCO office in the field of museum management and archaeological sites.
During the meeting, Mr. Sherif Fathy stressed the keenness of the Egyptian state to preserve its cultural and human heritage, which is clearly shown through the Supreme Committee for the management of World Heritage sites, which was formed by a Republican decision in 2018, headed by the assistant to the president of the Republic for national and strategic projects and the membership of each of the relevant stakeholders, as this committee follows up the work carried out in the field of preserving world heritage sites in Egypt while moving forward with development work in accordance with the national strategy for Sustainable Development “Egypt Vision 2023” and in accordance with the standards and requirements of UNESCO.
For her part, Dr. Nuria Sanz expressed the readiness of the UNESCO Regional Office in Cairo to cooperate with the Egyptian state represented by the Ministry of Tourism and antiquities by providing the necessary technical and technical consultations that contribute to the preservation of archaeological sites in Egypt, especially those registered on the World Heritage List, in addition to continuing cooperation in major development projects undertaken by the Egyptian state to achieve a civilized renaissance of the state in various fields and comprehensive and sustainable development, in addition to harnessing all possibilities for cooperation in preserving and rehabilitating heritage sites and providing all methods of technical support to the Egyptian state to prepare special files Registration of new archaeological sites on the World Heritage List and the preliminary list of UNESCO.
The meeting was attended by Ms. yemna Bahar, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Mohammed Ismail Khaled, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Ambassador Khaled Tharwat, advisor to the minister for international relations and general supervisor of the General Department of international relations and agreements at the ministry.
