"I really love your country [Egypt]," the Danish PM told Ahram Online.

"Egypt is a very friendly country to visit, and has a very friendly population," she said.

Earlier on Monday, Frederiksen visited Al-Azhar where she met with Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb to discuss forms of cooperation, and global issues of common concern.

These visits came after she had a detailed discussion with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Monday afternoon regarding advancing economic cooperation with Egypt, followed by a joint press conference.

This is Frederiksen's first official visit to Egypt, and her second visit to the country in 2023. Previously, in January, she visited Luxor and Aswan with her husband Bo Tengberg for a three-day winter vacation.

They visited different historical sites in both cities, and paid a visit to the master of sculptors Sayed Al Mataani in the Al Qarnah region in Luxor, known for its ancient temples and tombs. In addition, they visited different artists and homes in both cities.

Egypt’s tourism sector was dealt a hard blow by the COVID-19 pandemic, with revenue dropping from $13.03 billion in 2019 to $4.1 billion in 2020. However, the sector has begun since mid-2021 to flourish as Egypt secured $10.7 billion in tourism revenue in FY 2021/2022, up from $4.9 billion in FY 2020/2021, according to the Central Bank of Egypt in October.

Egypt received 13.1 million tourists in 2019, 3.7 million in 2020, and eight million in 2021.