Egyptian tourism minister to visit Iraq

Egyptian Minister of Tourism Hisham Zazoua left today for Baghdad at the head of the delegation on a three-day visit, the first by an Egyptian Minister of Tourism to Iraq since 2003. During the visit, Zazoua will hold talks with his Iraqi counterpart Dr Liwaa Simaisim on ways to strengthen tourist ties between the two countries, and to identify mechanisms bilateral agreement in the field of the entry of tourists, increase of flights between Cairo and Baghdad and training of Iraqi personnel in Egypt. The Egyptian minister and his accompanying delegation are scheduled to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Vice President Khodair Al Khoza’e to discuss the possibility of signing a cooperation protocol including the waiver of entry visas, and the increase of the number of daily flights between the two countries to increase the number of tourists. Last month, Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Hisham Qandil paid a visit to Iraq during which he agreed with Nouri Al-Maliki to provide facilities for businessmen and tourist movement between the two countries.