Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, yesterday received Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Hajj and Umrah, upon his arrival at the Giza Pyramids area, as part of his current official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt, aimed at discussing ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries in areas of mutual interest.
Fathy held an expanded meeting with the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah and his accompanying delegation, which included a number of deputy ministers and a group of leaders and officials from the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, as well as Ambassador Saleh bin Eid Al-Hussaini, Saudi Arabia's Ambassador in Cairo.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and mechanisms for joint coordination to make the current Umrah season even more successful, as well as the continuation of the ongoing preparations for the upcoming tourism Hajj season, which are in full swing, to ensure the best services are provided to pilgrims.
The two sides agreed to form a joint working team to cooperate in the various areas related to organizing the upcoming tourism Hajj season, helping to provide the utmost comfort for Egyptian tourism Hajj pilgrims. The joint working team is set to coordinate with the relevant private-sector bodies, foremost among them the Egyptian travel companies specializing in organizing Hajj and Umrah trips, as part of strengthening partnership and achieving integration between the government and private sectors.
Attending the meeting from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities were Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of the Grand Egyptian Museum Authority; Ehab Salem, Assistant Minister for Internal Audit and Governance; Eng. Mostafa Aly El-Din, Assistant Minister for the Minister's Office Affairs; Samia Samy, Assistant Minister for Travel Companies Affairs and Head of the Supreme Committee for Hajj and Umrah; and Rana Gohar, Adviser to the Minister for Communication and External Relations and Supervisor of the General Department of International Relations and Agreements at the ministry.
In a related context, the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah and his accompanying delegation toured the Giza Pyramids area and the Grand Egyptian Museum. He expressed his amazement at the greatness of ancient Egyptian civilization and his deep admiration for what he saw during his visit to the museum, congratulating the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities on the museum's impressive official opening and praising its advanced museum display and the unique archaeological artifacts it houses.
