Official opening of Grand Egyptian Museum postponed
The official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), the world's largest museum for Egyptian antiquities, has been postponed to the last quarter of the year 2025, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced in a press release posted on on its website and Facebook page. The grand opening had been scheduled for 3 July 2025.
The decision to postpone the official opening was taken In light of the current regional developments, the press release explained.
It said that a new date for the official opening would be set and announced in due course, following coordination with all relevant authorities. The objective is to ensure the organisation of an event that reflects Egypt's prominent cultural and tourism status on the international stage.
'This decision,' the press release read, 'also stems from Egypt's national responsibility and its commitment to present a truly exceptional global event in a climate worthy of the grandeur of Egypt's civilisation and unique heritage, and in a way that ensures broad international participation aligned with the significance of the occasion.
'The Grand Egyptian Museum will continue to welcome visitors as part of its soft opening phase until the newly scheduled date for the official inauguration later this year.'
Watani International
16 June 2025 Comments
comments Tags: Grand Egyptian Museum opening postponedSanaa' Farouk
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Egypt Today
3 hours ago
- Egypt Today
All Egyptian pilgrims return home within one week amid regional escalation
File- The first group of Egyptian pilgrims of this year, 2023, boarding the plane to Saudi Arabia- press photo CAIRO – 20 June 2025 – Amid ongoing military escalation in the region between Iran and Israel, all Egyptian pilgrims who traveled through tourism companies for Hajj have safely returned home from Saudi Arabia within a single week. Samia Sami, Assistant Minister for Tourism Companies and Head of the Official Egyptian Hajj Tourist Mission, stated that the pilgrimage concluded in record time due to the regional situation. A total of 80 tourist buses, carrying approximately 7,500 pilgrims, departed smoothly from Mecca and Medina and traveled via the Halat Ammar land crossing on the Saudi-Jordanian border, continuing through the Jordanian port of Aqaba and arriving at Egypt's Nuweiba port. Sami noted that the Central Emergency Operations Room—established by the Hajj mission under ministerial directives—closely monitored all bus movements from Saudi Arabia to Egypt. This was done in full coordination with Saudi, Jordanian, and Egyptian authorities to ensure a safe and organized return. She emphasized that the success of this expedited operation was made possible through continuous coordination between all relevant agencies across the three countries. As a result, the entire overland pilgrimage concluded without significant delays or congestion. Sami expressed her deep appreciation to the authorities and agencies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Arab Republic of Egypt. She also extended gratitude to the Chamber of Travel and Tourism Companies and Agencies, and to the tourism companies responsible for organizing this year's overland Hajj trips, for their swift response and effective collaboration with the mission. Regarding pilgrims returning via air travel, Sami confirmed that arrangements are ongoing to facilitate their return on scheduled flights. The final groups are expected to arrive within the coming days, with continued efforts to ensure their comfort and safety throughout the process.
Al-Ahram Weekly
3 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
The First of its Kind Collaboration with Imperial College London in the Region - Economy
Ushering through a strategic partnership to drive global sustainability solutions, Mentors Gate Development, a leading consultancy group working on SME and innovative entrepreneurship development across Africa and the Middle East, have joined hands with Imperial College London (ICL), ranked 1st in the UK and Europe; 2nd in the world in QS World University Rankings 2025, to officially launch a groundbreaking Industrial Wastewater Treatment Program, powered by ICL's WICKED Acceleration Labs, marking a critical step in advancing Egypt's environmental, industrial and economic goals. The initiative, unveiled during a high-level event in Cairo, aims to accelerate innovative, scalable solutions for industrial water treatment, aligning with Egypt's Vision 2030, UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the ongoing efforts for increased partnerships with the UK and EU countries towards creating viable opportunities for economic development in Egypt and the region. At the heart of this program is a commitment to driving real-world, sustainable impact. Industrial wastewater treatment has emerged as a global and national priority, with challenges pertaining to cost, infrastructure, regulations. The initiative targets not only technical innovation but also practical deployment, ecosystem engagement, and investment readiness. The launch event brought together a distinguished group of speakers on top of whom was Cristobal Garcia, Co-Founder of Wicked Acceleration Labs, Bassel Rahmy, MSMEDA Executive Director, Ambassador Magdy Amer, Former Egyptian Ambassador to China, FAO Communications Expert Rawya El Dabi, and ILO Project Manager Martin Ostenmeier. Respected guests included representatives of the UK Embassy in Egypt, the EU, as well as representatives from the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), government entities, research institutions, and private sector leaders. Some of Mentors' Gates strategic partners have also joined the launch, most notably Orange Digital Center and Track 3 Consulting. Key highlights of the multi-day launch-visit included site tours in Alexandria's industrial zones, discussions at the City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, and workshops that fostered dialogue between major players in Egypt's innovation ecosystem and lab representatives. Wicked Acceleration Labs Co-Founder & Faculty at IMPERIAL Business School, Dr. Cristobal Garcia-Herrera said that "This collaboration represents the essence of what Wicked Acceleration Labs were created to do—connect top-tier research institutions with on-the-ground 'wicked' and complex challenges in emerging economies, to drive effective solutions by envisioning desirable futures and orchestrating stakeholders. It is also of additional value to carry out this initiative in Egypt, where a spirit of advancement, collaboration and innovation is clearly sensed, and we plan to take this partnership with our partner-elect, Mentors' Gate, as a launching point to forge new, pioneering partnerships in the Middle East". Meanwhile, Dr. Mohamed El-Sery, Founder and CEO of Mentors' Gate Development, clarified that "Egypt is at a pivotal moment, and we believe this program can catalyze long-term change by merging innovation with industrial and environmental imperatives. It is a first of its kind initiative in the region, with one of the world's topmost academic entities on board, and it is an invaluable opportunity to move forward Egypt's sustainability plans". This program builds on the success of the Wicked Accelerator's previous global efforts, most notably with Imperial College London's Zikomo Initiative in Zambia - where Mentors' Gate played a key a role in the initiative - significantly reducing milk spoilage through solar refrigeration technology and increasing farmers' profit by 30-60%. The Egypt edition of Wicked Acceleration Labs seeks to replicate such impact by tackling Egypt's most pressing challenges and capitalize on increased call for sustainable, safety-ensuring and efficient practices, particularly as it comes on the heels of the UK and Egypt's announcement of a pledged $500 M fund towards Egypt's 'green growth' and decarbonization, Mentors Gate, the lead organizer and sponsor of the initiative in Egypt, is a global force in SME acceleration and entrepreneurship. With operations in 41 countries and a robust network of over 47,000 trainees and 12,750 business clients, the organization is well-positioned to empower startups and scale-ups working on sustainable industrial solutions. Their initiatives and projects focus on addressing sustainability, and food-nexus challenges including decarbonization and innovation development. For more information, visit: | Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Egypt Independent
10 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
Egypt ranks 9th globally, 1st in Africa for FDI in 2024
Rania al-Mashat, Egypt's Minister of Planning and Economic Development and International Cooperation, announced the launch of the World Investment Report issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report monitors key trends in global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2024 and highlights Egypt's position among the most attractive countries for investments, driven by the Egyptian government's reforms. In a statement to the Egyptian Cabinet, the Minister revealed that the report placed Egypt ninth globally and first in Africa among the most attractive countries for FDI during 2024, attracting $47 billion in investments. The Minister clarified that this marks a significant leap for Egypt from its 32nd global ranking in 2023, which recorded $10 billion in FDI. This reflects the government's prioritization of empowering the private sector and attracting investments. She also noted the positive growth rate in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, which exceeded expectations. Al-Mashat highlighted the report's positive focus on developments in Africa, particularly in Egypt. The report specifically spotlighted the Ras El Hekma deal as an innovative model comprising two components: direct investment and a debt-swap mechanism. She added that this model came at a crucial time and demonstrates the state's ability to utilize innovative tools to attract financing and investments, deploying them in line with its national priorities. She also referred to the UNCTAD Secretary-General's address, which emphasized the importance of mobilizing financing for the private sector. In this context, Egypt hosted a major conference earlier this week on development finance and enhancing the private sector's role in achieving growth and creating job opportunities. This conference also served as a genuine platform to embody the principle of cooperation between international financial institutions and national governments in supporting the investment and development agenda. Within this framework, she affirmed that over the past five years, Egypt has successfully mobilized more than $15.6 billion for the private sector. She underscored that the relationship between trade, investment, and development is an integrated and interconnected one, and that promoting private and foreign investments is considered one of the primary means to achieve comprehensive and sustainable growth.
