Minister of Tourism & Antiquities,
Ahmed Issa, received, in his office at the ministry’s headquarters in the New
Administrative Capital, Herro Mustafa Garg, Ambassador of the United States of
America (USA) to Cairo, who recently assumed her position.
The minister also met the accompanying
delegation of the ambassador to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the
two countries in fields of the tourism, archaeological, and in the field of
training to raise and enhance the efficiency and capabilities of the Ministry’s
staffers, in addition to discussing tourism investment opportunities in Egypt,
especially in the field of hotels.
During the meeting, reference was made
to the existing and fruitful cooperation between the Egyptian and American
sides in the field of tourism and antiquities.
The minister indicated the efforts made
in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development in
many development projects in the field of tourism, preserving antiquities and
heritage, enhancing and raising the efficiency of various tourist and
archaeological sites, raising and strengthening tourism and archaeological
awareness, and developing skills.
The Minister reviewed the indicators of
incoming tourism to Egypt in general and from the American market in
particular, stressing that incoming tourism from the American market has
achieved a record high this year.
He also talked about the efforts made
by the Egyptian state to support and advance the tourism industry in Egypt,
noting the incentive package recently approved by the Council of Ministers to
encourage the tourism sector to accelerate the expansion of investment in
building hotel rooms in a way that contributes to accommodate the expected
increase in the number of tourists. The minister confirmed that the state
aims to receive 30 million tourists by 2028.
The minister pointed out that improving
the tourism investment climate in Egypt and increasing the number of existing
hotel rooms is one of the axes of the national strategy for tourism development
in Egypt.
During the meeting, they discussed the
visit to Egypt of the famous American basketball team, the Harlem
Globetrotters, which is an exhibition basketball team whose playing style
combines sports, theater, and comedy.
For her part, Ambassador Hero Mostafa
Garg referred to her visit to the Giza Pyramids, ancient Egypt, and historic
Cairo to enjoy their ancient antiquities.
She praised the distinguished relations
between the two countries and stressed the need to support and strengthen those
relations, especially in the field of tourism and antiquities.
Source: State
Information Service