Cairo: Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, and his spouse visited the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) during his official trip to Egypt. Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of GEM, received the guests, leading them on a tour of the museum to explore its key landmarks and archaeological collections.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the visit included the museum's outdoor area, the main atrium, and the Grand Staircase, before continuing to the main exhibition galleries. The galleries comprise 12 exhibition halls presenting the history of ancient Egyptian civilization, from the Early Dynastic Period through the Greco-Roman period in Egypt.

The tour also included the galleries dedicated to the golden king Tutankhamun. At the end of the visit, Ghoneim presented a commemorative gift to Banga, who expressed his great admiration for the museum's distinctive architectural design and the unique artifacts it houses, reflecting the grandeur of ancient Egyptian civilization. He also praised the museum's exhibition narrative and the impressive way in which its collections are presented.

The visit comes a few months after the inauguration of GEM, the world's largest museum dedicated for a single civilization, in the presence of heads of state and government and official delegations. GEM, just outside of Cairo on the Giza Plateau and next door to the Great Giza Pyramids, houses over 57,000 artifacts, including the complete treasures of King Tutankhamun, comprising over 5,000 pieces.

Spanning 490,000 square meters, the GEM features a 7,000 m² main entrance dominated by a colossal statue of King Ramses II, and a 6,000 m² Grand Staircase rising the equivalent of six stories, adorned with masterpieces from across Egyptian history. Visitors explore 12 main exhibition halls, temporary galleries, and a Children's Museum, all designed with cutting-edge museological techniques to create a fully immersive journey through Egypt's past.