Hawass made the remarks at the opening of the fourth annual edition of the exhibition on Thursday, where he met with 50 prominent figures from various world countries.

The exhibition, which runs from 21 October to 7 November, is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNESCO.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Supply Minister Ali Moselhi, a number of Arab and foreign ambassadors in Egypt and a group of public figures and artists attended the opening ceremony.

Hawass revealed new antiquity discoveries in the Saqqara area near the famed Giza pyramids and spoke of the missing golden city in Luxor along with other wooden masks and coffins of the Modern Era of the Paranoiac age.

The veteran archaeologist also lauded President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's achievements in protecting antiquities, completing construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum and restoring Khedive Cairo and Islamic Cairo.

"Forever Is Now" is "an international art exhibition that both reflects the profound, global influence of ancient Egypt and draws on the ongoing inclusiveness of contemporary cultural practices."

International artists participating in the exhibition include Russian artist Alexander Ponomarev, American artist Gisela Colon, Brazilian artist Huao Trevisan, French artist JR, Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn, Egyptian artist Moataz Nasr, and Egyptian artist residing in Los Angeles Sherine Gerges. This is in addition to British artists Schuster and Mosley, Stephen Cox and Saudi artist Prince Sultan bin Fahd.