Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued on Monday a presidential decree forming the board of trustees of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) for three years, which is headed by the president.

The board of trustees includes foreigners, namely Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarō Asō, Director of Kyoto National Museum Johei Sasaki, Chairman of the Saudi Space Agency Prince Sultan bin Salman, the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organisation, and the director of the Metropolitan Museum.

The Egyptian board members are the ministers of tourism and antiquities, finance, and culture, as well as Zahi Hawass, Farouk Hosny, Hesham Okasha, Farouk El-Okda, TV host Sherif Amer, Mohamed Lotfi Mansour, and the director of Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

The decree was published in the official gazette.