Suez Canal opening ceremony

The presidency has succeeded in holding the new Suez Canal's inauguration ceremony on August 6 despite the presence of a large number of guests whose number hit 7000, a Presidential source said on Sunday.

Some 740 invitations were canceled three days before the opening ceremony due to the high increase in the number of foreign delegations and without affecting the ratio of representation of all the spectra of the Egyptian people, the source added.

A number of high-profile Arab and world officials, including the french president, Greece prime minister and British defense minister have attended the new Suez Canal opening ceremony as well as various world countries' official delegations, according to the source.

Several major development projects will be established during the coming phase, including the new administrative capital, the source underlined.