Ashraf AboArafe
Cairo — In a significant step toward strengthening tourism and academic relations between Egypt and Venezuela, His Excellency Wilmer Omar Barrientos, Ambassador of Venezuela to Egypt, held a fruitful meeting today with a distinguished group of deans from the faculties of tourism and hospitality representing eight prestigious Egyptian universities and academic institutions.
The meeting was organized and coordinated by Professor Dr. Ibrahim El-Assal, Cultural and Tourism Counselor at the Embassy of Venezuela in Egypt. Discussions focused on ways to advance the major joint tourism project between the two countries—an initiative that has been under development for some time with the support of the Ministries of Tourism of both Venezuela and Egypt.
Participating universities and institutions included Helwan University, Fayoum University, Sadat City University, Mansoura University, October 6 University, Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST), Suez Canal University, and the Higher Institute of Tourism and Hospitality of Sinai in Ras Sedr.
This meeting followed a series of earlier sessions held by Ambassador Barrientos and Dr. El-Assal with tourism specialists, influencers, journalists, as well as travel agency owners, tour organizers, and hotel industry experts.
During the gathering, the academics presented valuable insights and proposals regarding the joint tourism project, which will be considered by the Venezuelan government as part of the project’s implementation phase. Among the participants were prominent professors and doctors, including Prof. Dr. Soha Abdel Wahab, Prof. Dr. Mostafa El-Zoghl, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Prof. Dr. Mai Zaki, Prof. Dr. Ghada Hammoud, Prof. Dr. Ashraf Gharib, Prof. Dr. Nadia Maher, Prof. Dr. Niven Galal, Prof. Dr. Hanaa Fayed, Prof. Dr. Wael Soliman, Prof. Dr. Noha Azmy, and Prof. Dr. Omaima El-Shal.
Ambassador Wilmer Omar Barrientos expressed his satisfaction and optimism about fostering academic cooperation with Egyptian universities in the tourism field, including student and faculty exchanges and the utilization of the expertise of Egypt’s distinguished academics to further tourism development between both nations.
For his part, Dr. Ibrahim El-Assal emphasized the importance of this meeting in supporting Egypt’s Vision 2030, which aims to attract 30 million tourists, as well as the Venezuelan government’s goal to increase the number of Egyptian visitors to Venezuela.
The meeting also serves as a prelude to a major tourism event planned for the first quarter of 2026, expected to give a strong boost to bilateral tourism cooperation between Egypt and Venezuela.
