Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany and some other officials visit an archaeological site in Egypt's Delta governorate of Qalyoubiya, 30 km north of Cairo, capital of Egypt, on Jan. 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany said on Sunday that an Egyptian delegation from his ministry is now on an official visit to China to strengthen cooperation in the field of archaeology.
"The Egyptian delegates are now discussing with their Chinese counterparts the preparations for the first Chinese excavations in Egypt," the minister told Xinhua.
In a recent interview, the Egyptian minister of antiquities said Chinese archaeologists are very interested in starting excavations in his archaeologically rich country.
During his visit to a number of archaeological sites in Egypt's Delta governorate of Qalyoubiya, 30 km north of Cairo, Anany said the government is keen to preserve its ancient treasures that date back centuries ago.
Egypt, one of the most ancient civilizations, has been working hard to protect its archaeological heritage and discover the secrets of the archaeology of Pharaohs and other ancient civilizations across the country.
The North African country is also trying to revive its ailing tourism sector which has been suffering an acute recession over the past few years due to political turmoil and relevant security issues.
Egypt netted just 6.1 billion U.S. dollars in tourism revenues in 2015, a drastic downturn from 12.5 billion in 2010, according to the country's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
