Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy met, during his current visit to the Japanese capital Tokyo, with the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tanaka Akihiko, to discuss ways to enhance future cooperation in tourism and antiquities.
Fathy expressed his full appreciation for the fruitful cooperation between the Egyptian and Japanese sides, in many fields, especially the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).
The JICA has cooperated towards aiding the GEM project through financial and technical contributions by restoring the artifacts and transferring them from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the Grand Egyptian Museum.
The minister reviewed the great turnout of visitors to the museum since the start of its trial operation, as the museum receives about 5,000 visitors per day.
He anticipates that the museum will be visited by between 13,000-15,000 visitors per day after its full opening on July 3.
Fathy explained that the trial operation of the museum will serve as a good opportunity to observe the movement of visits inside it, especially during peak hours, in order to provide an exceptional experience.
Strong ties with Japan
The head of the JICA congratulated Fathy on the opening of the “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” exhibition, describing it as a great opportunity that the Japanese people have been eagerly awaiting, especially in light of their passion towards ancient Egyptian civilization.
Both sides also discussed future cooperation plans in general and the GEM in particular, exchanging experiences and raising the capabilities of its staff.
They further discussed cooperating towards making the GEM become the largest regional research center for the study of Egyptology and museums.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
