Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Egyptian province of South Sinai is ready to accept Azerbaijani investors and create all the necessary conditions for mutually beneficial cooperation, Khaled Fouda, Governor of South Sinai said at a meeting with Azerbaijani journalists in Sharm el-Sheikh.

He said that tourism, agriculture, culture, sports, and youth policy are in the list of promising areas for the cooperation between the province and Azerbaijan.

Naming tourism as a priority field for further cooperation, he said Egypt is famous for its tourism and the country is very attractive for tourists.

Sinai Peninsula, particularly Sharm el-Sheikh, which is one of the tourist centers of the world, is prepared to accept Azerbaijani tourists. “To this end, the peninsula plans to open a charter flight to Baku which may become regular in the future,” Fouda said.

Currently Azerbaijani tourists arrive in Sharm el-Sheikh through Tbilisi via charter flight Tbilisi-Sharm el-Sheikh-Tbilisi, which creates some problems for them.

The opening of a direct flight from Baku to Sharm El Sheikh will eliminate these problems, Fouda said.

He noted that Egyptian company "EgAz tours" is the initiator of this idea. The company is ready to provide Azerbaijani tourists with 15 best hotels in the peninsula among them the world-famous hotels Class "luxury", and budget hotels.

This initiative is supported by the Azerbaijani and Egypt Tourism Ministries. The plans to open a direct flight and provide services to tourists from Azerbaijan were discussed at the meeting of representatives of the Tourism Ministries between the two countries in August this year.

“It guarantees the safety of all tourists wishing to visit the region,” Founda stressed.

"The situation in the peninsula is calm and under the control of law enforcement bodies. Security of the tourists is guaranteed," the governor said.

He further noted that direct flights between Sharm el-Sheikh and Baku may also contribute to the expansion of economic ties between the two sides.

Providing appropriate opportunities for future cooperation in the region will be discussed during the visit of Sinai’s officials to Baku in January.

"I and representatives of major Egyptian companies will visit Baku, where we will meet with our Azerbaijani colleagues on prospects of business relations," he said.

"We are expecting interesting business proposals from Azerbaijani side," said the governor.

Shahin Abdullayev, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Egypt also said that Azerbaijan is ready to cooperate with Egypt.

He noted that opening of a direct flight between the two countries can make an important contribution to the development of bilateral cooperation.

He stressed that the two sides have good cooperation in politics. Establishment of economic relations between Azerbaijan and the Sinai Peninsula is beneficial for both sides, he said.