Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled El-Anani, has met with Maja Gojkovic, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information, to discuss increasing cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism and archaeology. Gojkovic, who is currently on an official visit to Egypt, expressed her country's desire to benefit from the Egyptian expertise in the field of archeology, museums, and restoration and development of archaeological sites, in addition to recovering antiquities smuggled abroad illegally. The two parties also discussed the possibility of signing a memorandum of cooperation between the two countries to combat antiquities trafficking, and twinning between the National Museum in Belgrade and one of the Egyptian archaeological museums. Both sides also touched on Egypt's expected participation in the cultural celebration that will be organised by Serbia in 2022, by holding an exhibition of Egyptian antiquities in the European country. For his part, El-Anani stressed his ministry's full readiness to provide Serbia with the Egyptian expertise in archaeological fields. He reviewed the Egyptian government's efforts to confront the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including the vaccination of all tourism workers in South Sinai and Red Sea resorts, besides the precautionary measures and safety controls. The government also provided health facilities in tourism and hotel establishments, museums, archaeological sites, and airports, to ensure the health and safety of workers and visitors. At the end of the meeting, Gojkovic invited El-Anani to visit Serbia.
