Zahi Hawass: France is the only country in the world that cares about and respects Egyptian civilization

Yasser El-Ghobeiry and Ahmed Sawan

Archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass said, “I am happy today to attend this conference, and I am happy with the attendance of Egypt’s most senior ambassador, King Ramses II, and I know very well the value of Ramses II to the French.”

“When Ramses II came to France the first time, he was met with great respect, as if he was a living king. We have a very good relationship with France, which I believe is the only country in the world that cares about and respects Egyptian civilization. When the French state appoints an ambassador to Egypt, his first concern is to follow up on the Egyptian antiquities,” Hawass added.

The famed Egyptologist’s remarks came during the symposium of the Center for Middle East Studies (CEMO) in Paris, which was organized on Friday, April 7, at the historic Hotel de Crillon overlooking the Pharaonic obelisk, under the title “Egypt: The Dawn of Conscience”.

Egypt’s former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, and journalist Abdelrahim Ali, director of CEMO in Paris, spoke at the symposium, which was also attended by Egyptian Ambassador to France Alaa Youssef, a group of editors-in-chief of French newspapers, a number of French parliamentarians, as well as a number of senior politicians and Egyptologists.

The symposium was held on the sidelines of the Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs Exhibition, which kicked off on Thursday, April 6, in Paris and will continue for five months in the French capital.