The ambitious conservation project of Shali village, located at the heart of the oasis, was inaugurated today on Friday. The inauguration was attended by the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El Enany, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt Ivan Surkoš, Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, and the Governor of Matrouh, General Khaled Shoeib, along with 20 foreign ambassadors to Egypt. The restoration of the archaeological site is funded by the European Union, and is designed and implemented by the Environmental Quality International for Small and Medium Enterprise Development (EQI-SME). It aims at not only reviving the local economy of the site but also setting the location as a eco-tourism destination. The project restored commercial zones, traditional marketplaces, upgraded environmental services, and established a Maternal and Child Healthcare Center to provide a better quality of life for communities and promote their economic empowerment. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled El-Enany added that restoration works at the ancient fortress have been carried out over the past two years, with a €600,000 fund from the European Union. Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Rania Al…
