Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, held a meeting with Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, to discuss opening new horizons for tourism cooperation between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the coming period. This came on the sidelines of attending the 52nd meeting of the UN Tourism Regional Commission for the Middle East held in Kuwait.
The two ministers stressed the importance of strengthening continuous cooperation between Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Tourism to support and develop the tourism sector. They also noted that two-way tourism between Egypt and Saudi Arabia is witnessing notable growth, both in terms of tourist numbers and tourism spending, and discussed cooperation mechanisms that would support and sustain this growth in the coming phase.
The two ministers also agreed to form a joint working team including officials from the tourism promotion bodies of the two ministries, in cooperation with Egyptian and Saudi travel companies, with the aim of preparing joint tour programs targeting tourists from long-haul markets, foremost among them the Chinese market. This team will work within the framework of the executive program signed between the two ministries last November to strengthen joint cooperation in tourism.
The meeting was attended by Ambassador Mohamed Gaber Abu El-Wafa, Egypt's Ambassador to Kuwait; Rana Gohar, Advisor to the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Communication and External Relations and General Supervisor of the ministry's General Department of International Relations and Agreements; Dr. Ahmed Nabil, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Aviation and Follow-up; and Counsellor Mohamed Abdel Halim of the Egyptian Embassy in Kuwait.
