Egypt and Japan signed Monday financing agreements for the completion of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which will allow the country to become a major worldwide hub for Pharonic history and a must-visit place for Egyptologists. Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr signed letters of exchange relating to the museum with the Japanese Ambassador to Cairo Takehiro Kagawa in presence of Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Anani, at the GEM premises in Giza Governorate. Later on Monday, Minister El-Anani and Teruyuki Ito, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency's Cairo office, have signed the executive financing agreement worth $460 million. The JICA loan will paid over 25 years, at a 1.4 percent interest rate, with a seven-year grace period. Anani ascertained that the museum would be a destination for tourists and visitors worldwide to watch the ancient Egyptian monuments. 50 percent of the museum's works have been finalised and the first phase will be inaugurated by the end of 2017, the Egyptian minister added. Ambassador Kagawa emphasised Japan's keenness to support Egypt, noting that this project would reflect cooperation between both countries and would contribute to developing tourism and provide further job opportunities, besides raising students' awareness on Egyptian monuments and enhancing Egypt's economic and social development. Modern Japanese technology would be used in the implementation of the Museum, which is considered the largest technology worldwide, he explained. The Grand Egyptian Museum complex is extremely flexible and suitable for permanent and temporary exhibitions set to witness an attendance up to 15,000 visitors per day. GEM will contain a library, a research centre, restoration laboratories, a museum for children, and one for people with disabilities, a public square with shops, particularly a specialised museum gift shop, cafes and restaurants, and an open air museum and parking facilities.
