Int'l cooperation minister, Japan Ambassador sign letters to fund GEM

Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr Monday signed letters exchanged with Japan to fund the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).

Putting his signature to the letters was also Takehiro Kagawa, the Japanese Ambassador in Cairo.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled el Anani witnessed the signing of the letters.

Nasr witnessed the inking of a funding agreement between Anani and Teruyuki Ito, the Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Egypt Office.

Nasr said the agreement followed big efforts by her Ministry to secure 49.409 billion yens to complete the construction of the GEM.

She praised relations between Cairo and Tokyo and stressed the importance of the project, noting that the GEM will be the world's biggest museum and will help give the tourism sector a shot in the arm.

The GEM will be an international museum of the 21st century and will showcase the different stages of the ancient Egyptian civilization, Nasr added.

The project is meant to create new jobs within the tourism sector, the minister said.

Anani, for his part, said that 50 percent of the construction work has been completed, noting that phase one of the project will be inaugurated by the end of 2017. Phase one will include a number of rooms, atop of which that of King Tutankhamun, the antiquities minister noted.

About 4,000 workers are acting around the clock to complete the project on time, Anani added.

Ambassador Kagawa said Japan is keen on supporting Egypt in this project, which will serve as a symbol of cooperation between the two countries. 

He believes the GEM will contribute to developing the tourism industry in Egypt and securing jobs for youth.

Advanced Japanese technology will be used to implement the project, Kagawa noted.