The Hong Kong Palace Museum’s most-visited and profitable exhibition, “Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums,” serves as a symbol of the strengthening friendship between Egypt and Hong Kong, said Baher Sheweikhi, Consul General of Egypt in Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions.
This year has seen a significant surge in Egyptian cultural events across Hong Kong, Sheweikhi highlighted, demonstrating the country’s rich soft power.
His remarks came as Egypt announced two major recent archaeological finds, including a well-preserved Byzantine-era residential city in the Western Desert, marking yet another milestone in the country’s rich heritage preservation.
“I consider this to be one of our most significant achievements in bringing this exhibition to Hong Kong, a city renowned for its harmonious blend of Eastern and Western cultures,” said the diplomat, who assumed his post in Hong Kong in 2023.
He shared that organizing the exhibition, which runs for nine and a half months until August 31, was initially an aspiration of his upon arriving in the city, and praised the HKPM for its outstanding contribution to promoting the exhibition.
For instance, the museum teamed up with Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) in March to launch ten specially themed “Pharaoh Cat” buses, followed by a collaboration with MTR Corporation to launch thematic showcases across nine MTR stations and shopping malls.
Sheweikhi noted that the exhibition has created the ripple effect of sparking intense local interest in traveling to Egypt to experience its 5,000-year-old civilization firsthand. He plans to leverage this wave of curiosity by facilitating the resumption of direct passenger flights between Hong Kong and Egypt as early as the first quarter of next year, which were suspended during the pandemic.
He also pointed to the vast potential for collaboration between HKPM and the Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened its doors last November. He revealed that cultural authorities on both sides are highly enthusiastic about deepening ties, paving the way for more exhibitions to land in Hong Kong in the future.
The Egyptian Consulate will also host a prominent event this month at the HKPM to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the July 1952 Revolution, which is observed as Egypt’s National Day, as well as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and China, which began in 1956.
Egypt maintains a strong strategic relationship with mainland China, which was formally elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2014, Sheweikhi said.
He stressed that Egypt’s close partnership with China does not contradict its ties to Hong Kong, which plays the important role of mediator between the two countries, as the city positions itself as a “super-connector” and “super value-adder.”
He noted the historic presence of the Egyptian Consulate in Hong Kong, with Egypt being the first Middle Eastern and African country to establish a consulate in the city back in the early 1970s. During his tenure, Hong Kong has welcomed visits from more than five ministers from the Egyptian government. Sheweikhi hoped that the HKSAR government would send official bureau secretaries to Egypt to meet their counterparts to strengthen future collaboration.
He also pointed out the importance of people-to-people exchanges, pointing to a rise in applications from Egyptian students to Hong Kong’s world-class universities, taking advantage of various scholarship opportunities offered under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Around 20 students from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have also visited institutions in Egypt, with the aim of fostering stronger academic ties and establishing formal student exchange programs.
Ultimately, Sheweikhi said his primary goal is to “put Egypt on the map” in Hong Kong, fostering closer connections across all sectors, so that people from both sides can learn about each other in person.
Bilateral trade between Egypt and Hong Kong reached a total of HK$6.4 billion in the preceding year, marking a remarkable 199 percent increase compared to 2024, according to Baher Sheweikhi.
“It is truly encouraging to observe that our endeavors to highlight Egypt’s potential are yielding positive results,” Sheweikhi said, highlighting sectors including port logistics, textile manufacturing, and hospitality.
He stressed that Hong Kong’s Hutchison Ports is actively contributing to Egypt’s strategic position as a key trade hub, in alignment with the objectives of the Belt and Road Initiative, with a substantial investment exceeding US$1.5 billion (HK$11.77 billion) in the nation.
Hutchison Ports also operates the Red Sea Container Terminal at Sokhna Port, which began commercial operations in January. It is Egypt’s first fully automated and entirely electric container terminal and is designed to receive ultra-large vessels of up to 400 meters.
Another remarkable recent development includes Hong Kong-based apparel business Crystal International Group, which signed an agreement to establish a textile complex in Egypt with an investment of US$350 million. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council has been promoting for the textile and garment industry in Egypt. The initiative is particularly crucial for strengthening bilateral economic ties, offering a valuable opportunity to explore potential investment prospects within Egypt’s textile and garment industry, Sheweikhi added.
He also touched on an emerging sector in hospitality, noting that the Hong Kong-headquartered Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has expanded to operate three hotels in Egypt – one in Cairo and the other two in Aswan and Luxor.
Sheweikhi said Egypt holds a position as an ideal gateway to the Middle East and North Africa region, similar to how Hong Kong serves as a gateway to Asia. “Egypt’s strategic location and preferential access to African, Arab, and European markets present a compelling investment opportunity for multinational corporations pursuing international expansion,” he said.
The country also has various trade agreements with Africa, the Arab world, Europe, and the United States, allowing investors to access these markets tariff-free.
He added that the Egyptian government is currently focusing on investments that generate significant employment and exports, while also emphasizing strong local participation in key sectors, including renewable energy, automotive manufacturing, textiles, fruits, electronics and home appliances, pharmaceuticals, transportation and logistics, healthcare, and education.
Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered nearly 2,000-year-old tombs on the Mediterranean coast and the remains of a planned Byzantine-era city in the western desert, the tourism and antiquities ministry said.
The coastal discovery was made at Marina El-Alamein, about 100 kilometers west of Alexandria, where recent excavations uncovered 18 Greco-Roman tombs, the ministry said in a statement last Saturday.
Several burial chambers were discovered with their original stone blocking slabs still in place, while a granite sarcophagus measuring about 2.5 meters was found with its lid intact, suggesting the graves had remained sealed for nearly two millennia.
Inside the tombs, archaeologists found human remains alongside pottery, amphorae, and other funerary objects.
Among the most notable finds were 24 gold objects placed inside the mouths of several individuals, a funerary practice associated with beliefs about the afterlife.
The site is believed to correspond to the ancient city of Leukaspis, a Mediterranean port that flourished between the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods.
The latest discovery brings the total number of known tombs at Marina El-Alamein to 44 since the site was first identified in 1986 during construction work, the ministry said.
Separately, in the Dakhla Oasis in Egypt’s western desert, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a Byzantine-era settlement at Ain al-Sabil, dated to around the 4th century AD, the ministry said last Friday.
The city, built of mudbrick, features a planned street grid, public squares, residential buildings, a basilica-style church and defensive structures, indicating an organized urban community in the desert interior.
The remains of a Byzantine-era settlement found in Dakhla Oasis (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ facebook page)
The unearthed bronze and gold coins. (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ facebook page)
The site also yielded around 200 ostraca written in Coptic and Greek, along with bronze and gold coins, including examples linked to the reign of Roman emperor Constantius II.
Egypt has been trying to boost its tourism revenues, with high-profile archaeological finds frequently used to showcase the country’s cultural heritage and draw international visitors.
Tourism is a key source of foreign currency, alongside Suez Canal revenues and remittances from Egyptians working abroad.
Meanwhile, the exhibition “Tutankhamun – His Tomb and His Treasures” in Paris, France, runs until September 6, with over 1,000 scientifically reconstructed replicas recreating the discovery of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.