About Egypt

Thousands of years ago, the foundation of human civilization was established as one of the greatest and oldest civilizations flourished alongside the glorified Nile river, making the world marvel at the mysteries of the great inheritance and magnificent wonders it created for millennia to the extent that a field of study was dedicated to unravelling its secrets; Egyptology. Egypt is a global historical archive that tells the tales of ancient history to pave the way for a robust future. It has always dazzled the world with its unceasing triumphs and immense potential. With its rich history, unparalleled beauty, unique location, youthful population, and resilient economy, Egypt is the throbbing heart of the Arab world and the destination for seekers of incomparable opportunities and exceptional experiences.

Egypt houses a plethora of unrivaled tourist and historical masterpieces and thrives with archaeological treasures. Tourists travel across Egypt to trace remnants of the ancient Egyptian civilization kaleidoscope of Islamic, Coptic, Roman, Greek and Pharaonic colors.

Inspirational historical monuments are not the only alluring treasures in Egypt. Every city conserves its own magic, some harbor old temples while others embrace the beautiful stretches of picturesque beaches that enchant sun-lovers. Despite their variances, Egyptian cities never fail to radiate history, culture and dynamism. Cairo – a never-sleeping city-, Alexandria, Port Said, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan are just a few examples of where diverse local cuisine as well as vibrant folklore dance and music can be enjoyed. And no matter where you are in Egypt, you will find that the Egyptian warmth and hospitableness are incomparable.

So, whether you want to explore captivating culture, enjoy natural serenity, embark on a new adventure, or conduct business, Egypt is “where it all begins”.

The Egyptian economy is one of the largest economies in Africa and the MENA Region. It ranked third in the year 2021 in the list of the largest Arab economies[1]. It has a diversified economy with more than 5 major sectors contributing to its economic development, including tourism, agriculture, contracting and infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics and transportation.

With more than one third of the world’s monuments in Egypt, tourism – and its subdivisions of logistics, – transportation, food and beverage, hospitality, contracting, manufacturing, and textiles contribute approximately to 27% of Egypt’s GDP.

In addition, Egypt enjoys a strategic position within the world’s trade map, due to its strategic location between 3 different continents, connecting 2 seas via the Suez Canal, one of the most important waterways in the world. It has recorded total revenues of USD 1.69 Billion for the first quarter of 2022. Accordingly, Egypt is considered a pioneer in the maritime transport sector and logistics services.

With an export system reaching more than 154 countries around the world and a local market serving more than 110 Million citizens, Egypt is an attractive destination for investments in different sectors. Oil, gas and petrochemical industries are of the most potential investment sectors, in addition to production, tourism, petroleum, agricultural, industrial and real estate sectors. The country is considered one of the rising African countries to invest in 2022[2], and is ranked the second amongst the top 10 investment destinations in Africa, following Nigeria.

And so, in November 2016, the Government of Egypt launched the first phase of its highly ambitious economic and monetary reform program, followed by the second phase of the National Structural Reform Program (NSRP) in April 2021. It aims at ensuring further macroeconomic stability and sustaining the gains of economic reforms in the long term.

In addition, Egypt has implemented some regulatory reforms to encourage investment, such as the new investment law in 2017; a new companies law and a bankruptcy law in 2018; and a new customs law in 2020.

Despite the Corona virus pandemic crisis along with repercussions of the Russian Ukraine war, Egypt’s economic growth has been strong and resilient since the start of the economic reforms in 2016. In order to support this economic program, Egypt initiated some discussions with the IMF to help mitigate the global crises impacts.

On the other side, Egyptian net foreign reserve recorded USD 37.08 Bn in March 2022, affected by the geopolitical situation that the world witnessed in late February, yet, Egypt’s NIR is still within the safe limits.

Egypt’s GDP per capita recorded a remarkable increase during the past few years to reach USD 12K per capita in 2020, and the GDP growth rate reached 9% in the second quarter of FY 2021/2022, after 5.4% growth rate a year earlier, within the impacts of Covid-19 Crisis.

[1] According to Forbes Middle East magazine.

[2] According to Business Insider.

First: Regarding the COVID-19 virus

It is prohibited to enter the Arab Republic of Egypt, whether by land, sea or air, unless any of the following is verified:

Obtaining the full doses (at least two) of the anti-COVID-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization or the Egyptian Drugs Authority, and at least 14 days have passed since the second dose of the two-dose vaccines (Pfizer – AstraZeneca – Moderna – Sinopharm – Sinovac – Sputnik), or At least 14 days have passed since the vaccination of the vaccines prescribed for a single dose (Johnson & Johnson) before reaching the Egyptian lands. Obtaining a certificate stating that the examination is negative against COVID-19 by any of the tests approved by the Ministry of Health and Population (ID NOW – Rapid Antigen test – PCR) to detect the Corona virus within 72 hours before reaching the Egyptian entry ports, with the exception of children under 12 years old.

Certificates approved in the country (issuing entity) shall be accepted without abrasion, deletion or addition and contain:

QR Code These certificates are accepted after checking with the authority issuing the certificate. Vaccination certificates issued by foreign countries must be approved and authenticated by the Egyptian embassy in those countries that do not contain a QR Code.

Acknowledging the official forms of vaccination certificates issued by those countries through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provided that the certificates issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and those countries are mutually recognized.

In case the vaccination certificate or the examination certificate carried by the passenger does not comply with the established regulations, an Antigen Rapid Test is conducted to detect the COVID-19 virus for those coming from abroad, and in the case of a positive examination, the following measures are taken. For those coming from abroad, and in the event of a positive examination, the following measures are taken:

For Egyptians, the case is evaluated according to the report of the quarantine doctor at the port, and in the absence of symptoms or minor symptoms, the home is isolated for a period of 10 days, and in the event of moderate or severe symptoms, the transfer to an isolation hospital. For non-Egyptians, the laboratory examination is confirmed using the ID NOW test, and in case of a positive examination, the traveler will return to the country from which they came with the knowledge of the airplane carrier.

In case the requirements for certificates of vaccination against the COVID-19 virus are not met, the arrival must be accompanied by evidence that a PCR analysis has been conducted to detect the COVID-19 virus with a negative result, no later than 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the flight directly to The Arab Republic of Egypt, excluding children under the age of six.

Second: Regarding vaccination against yellow fever

Visitors coming from areas affected by the risk of yellow fever transmission must present a valid international vaccination certificate against yellow fever disease to enter the Arab Republic of Egypt for travelers aged 9 months and above, and also for travelers transit arrivals and those who stayed for more than 12 hours Transit are in the list of countries at risk for yellow fever transmission.

List of countries with high risk of yellow fever transmission:

Africa: Angola – Benin – Burkina Faso – Burundi – Cameroon – Central African Republic – Chad – Congo – Cote d’Ivoire – Democratic Republic of the Congo – Equatorial Guinea – Ethiopia – Gabon – Gambia – Ghana – Guinea – Guinea-Bissau – Kenya – Liberia – Mali – Mauritania – Niger – Nigeria – Senegal – Sierra Leone – South Sudan – Sudan – Togo – Uganda – Eritrea – Rwanda – Somalia – Federal Republic of Tanzania – Zambia.

South America: Argentina – Bolivia – Brazil – Colombia – Ecuador – French Guiana – Guyana – Panama – Paraguay – Peru – Suriname – Trinidad and Tobago – Venezuela.

In case the international certificate of vaccination is not presented, the passenger will be subject to a quarantine procedure for a period of 6 days from the date of travel of the passenger from the countries affected by yellow fever disease.

Preventive Instructions for the Conference At airports or ports of entry to the Arab Republic of Egypt

The entry of guests is organized in accordance with the instructions of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and quarantine at airports, land and sea ports. Quarantine instructions are referred to MoHP in case of updating during the conference period.

Upon arrival at the accommodation hotel

Upon arrival to the residence hotel, the guest is directed to the hotel’s preventive room, where there a preventive team equipped with tools to do nasal swabs for analysis using the Rapid Antigen Test will be present. A guest swab will be taken and analyzed, and the result will be granted within 10 minutes. As soon as the sample is negative, it is recorded on the electronic program and the guest is given a bracelet stating their negative status, which enables them to freely move and access the conference. After the negative sample is issues, the guest is directed to their room and accommodated in the hotel with full liberty of movement. In the case of a positive sample, the case is directed to the isolation room in the residence hotel and the protocol for dealing with positive cases is applied so that the following is done: Directing the case to the designated isolation room in an isolated building or section of the residence hotel. Meals are sent to the case room on a regular basis. Case requests are answered through telephone contact with the hotel reception. Clinical examination and evaluation of the health condition are carried out so that they are subject to the home isolation protocol, or they are directed to Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital for medical evaluation and examinations, and hospitalization in the case the doctor’s assessment and the health condition require that.

Any medical tests for COVID-19, home isolation at the hotel, or hospital reservations for treatment are free of charge, and no money is paid for it.

The patient is subject to daily examination and follow-up with the therapist at the hotel. Noting that the therapist is assigned to the patient by the Egyptian Ministry of Health. Home isolation takes place for 5 days in the hotel’s isolation room, then the patient may move freely and return to the home country while taking standard precautions to prevent transmission of infection. This includes a surgical mask that is worn and not taken off for an additional 5 days, including boarding the plane and arriving to their home country. The case is followed up daily by the curative doctor and the preventive team, with emphasis on isolation and answering all case requests from the hotel without prejudice to the rules and regulations governing home isolation in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

While staying at the hotel

Preventive instructions are implemented by the preventive team at the residence hotel for the duration of the conference. All instructions and any inquiries regarding any preventive measures are followed up by the preventive team residing in the residence hotel. They are responsible for supervising all vital areas of the hotel, starting with the reception, kitchen, restaurant and swimming pools, as well as insect surveillance and spraying green spaces.

When going to the conference room

The temperature of the guests is measured before boarding the transportation from the hotel to the conference room. Guests’ entry to the conference hall is followed up by wearing the bracelet specified by the organizing committee, which indicates a negative result which allows access. In the absence of a bracelet indicating that the access swab is negative, the guest is directed to the preventive room outside the conference hall in order to do an access swab for testing before entering the hall and receiving the access bracelet. According to the swab result, the application of Egyptian Ministry of Health protocol is applied upon arrival at hotels so that if the sample is negative, the bracelet is worn and the guest is allowed to enter the hall. However, if the swab is positive, the case is directed by ambulance to the residence hotel and the hotel’s preventive team is informed of directing the case to the isolation room and follow up on the situation. When a case is suspected through the appearance of any symptoms according to the definition of the case of Covid-19 in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the following is applies: Coordination is made with the therapeutic team to medically evaluate the case and transfer it to Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital for diagnostic and laboratory examinations. A swab for PCR is done to confirm or deny infection. If the infection is confirmed by positive PCR smear, the case is isolated according to its evaluation: Without symptoms or minor symptoms, the case is isolated in the isolation room in the residence hotel and medically followed up. Without symptoms, the patient is directed to home isolation and is followed up by the Directorate of Health Affairs in the place of residence. Moderate or severe cases are isolated in the designated hospital. Epidemiological investigation is carried out to follow up those in contact with the positive case until departure. Disinfecting the place of residence of the infected case once confirmed. A rapid antigen test swab will be done for follow-up after 72 hours of arrival. Entry to the conference hall is not permitted without a follow-up swab and registration on the electronic program. In the case of a positive sample, the protocol is applied as explained previously.

PCR travel swab

In case the guest requests a certificate stating that the sample is negative, for the purpose of travel, they may go to the preventive room and inform the preventive team to do a travel swab 72 hours before the date of travel or according to the rules governing the country to which they are travelling to. The preventive team sets the date for withdrawing the travel swab and then withdrawing the swab from the guest at the specified time The swab is sent to the laboratories at Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital for analysis with a PCR device and a QR Code certificate is issued stating that the travel swab is negative. The cost of issuing a negative swab certificate is 30 US dollars, to be paid with the visa to the Egyptian Ministry of Health financial officer.