On 11 May 2025, Ali Abdel Halim, Director General of the Egyptian Museum, received a high-ranking delegation from the Austrian University of Vienna and the Austrian Archaeological Institute as part of the promotion of academic and cultural cooperation between scientific institutions in Egypt and Austria.

The delegation was led by Bernhard Palme, Professor of Ancient History and Papyrology at the University of Vienna and Head of the Papyrus Collection of the Austrian National Library. The delegation included Anna Dolganov, researcher at the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, ten students from the Department of Ancient History at the University of Vienna as well as Irene Forstner-Müller, Head of the Cairo branch of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, and Ahmed Naqshara, Professor at the Faculty of Archaeology at Ain Shams University and researcher at the Institut français d'archéologie orientale (IFAO).

This visit was initiated by Khaled Younes, Professor of Islamic History and Civilisation at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels at Sadat City University and researcher at the IFAO.

During the visit, Ali Abdul Halim guided the delegation through the museum. A highlight was the visit to the restoration workshop for papyri, where the guests were shown the unique objects in this department.