Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, met with Salim Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, Oman's Minister of Heritage and Tourism, to discuss ways to strengthen joint cooperation between the two countries in the fields of tourism, antiquities and investment.
This came on the sidelines of the 26th session of the UN Tourism General Assembly, hosted by the Saudi capital, Riyadh, from November 7 to 11 this month.
The two ministers affirmed the depth and strength of the historical relations between Egypt and the Sultanate of Oman, noting the continuous development in bilateral relations in light of the attention the leaderships of the two countries pay to strengthening cooperation in various fields.
The two sides addressed opportunities to increase two-way tourism between Egypt and the Sultanate of Oman and to exchange expertise in human capacity development in the tourism sector, as well as cooperation in safeguarding and protecting cultural heritage. The two sides also discussed the possibility of benefiting from Egyptian expertise in antiquities restoration, recovering smuggled artifacts and combating illicit trafficking in cultural property.
Sherif Fathy reviewed the latest tourism development in Egypt, particularly in the North Coast region and New Alamein City, and the rapid growth they are witnessing, which makes them one of the most prominent promising tourist destinations on the international tourism map, pointing to the major investments underway in the Ras El Hekma area in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, and the Alam El Roum area in cooperation with the State of Qatar.
The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities spoke about the Egyptian state's interest in developing tourism infrastructure, from the network of roads and railways to airports and tourist ports, helping to strengthen connectivity between different tourist destinations within Egypt. He explained that the ministry is currently working to boost hotel capacity to keep pace with growing tourism demand, with nearly 10,000 new hotel rooms added during this year.
