Saudi Gazette CAIRO — Egypt and Greece signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in tourism cooperation here with the Egyptian Minister of Tourism Hisham Zazou and his Greek counterpart Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura expressing their optimism on increasing cooperation in tourism between the two countries. "We are two nations that are proud of our history," said the Kountoura in the recent press conference that followed the signing of the MoU. Kountoura said that her visit to Egypt was fruitful and beyond her expectations and she was happy with the warm welcome accorded to her by the Egyptians. She added that she was surprised that Egypt has many touristic areas that is not only historical but has may other attraction. "I'll be taking back all the beautiful things I saw here to Greek people," she said. She added that Egypt and Greece have common culture and history and a strong relation that has been boosted by the two countries. Kountoura believes that Egypt will come back soon as a top tourist destination, especially that Egypt has a variety of tourism activities around the year, adding the Greek government will also be building a strong relation with Egypt in different fields. She added that actual work would start when she heads back to her country to prepare for workshops to apply them in Egypt during her next visit in May. Zazou said that the signing of this MoU is an important step in boosting tourism ties between the two countries, adding that the visit of the Kountoura will affect positively on the tourism sector, both in Egypt and Greece. Zazou added that there would be many areas of cooperating between the two countries, like increasing the number tourists, and extending more facilities to Egyptians who travel to Greece or the Greeks who come to Egypt. He added: "The Ministry is working to boost the number of tourists from US and the Far East by marketing tourism in both countries. We will be focusing on cooperation in religious tourism as Egypt has the attractive destination Saint Catherine in Sinai." The Egypt Tourism Authority had planned a tour of various areas of interest for the Greece tourism minister.
