South Sinai governorate organised the fifth St Catherine forum on religious tolerance, "Here We Pray Together," on 10-12 October.
Governor of South Sinai Khaled Fouda received the ministers of tourism, antiquities, culture, religious endowments, immigration, supply, local development, youth who attended the forum.
Thirty-two ambassadors attended the forum, including the ambassadors of Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Switzerland, EU, Georgia, Colombia, Japan, Poland, Austria, Serbia, France, Belgium, Armenia, Malta, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, Oman, Czech Republic and Tajikistan.
this year. He added that St Catherine has seen remarkable development in its infrastructure lately, as well as development in the tourism sector, especially religious tourism.
Endowments Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa delivered the Friday sermon at El-Wadi El-Moqaddas Mosque in South Sinai, while Christians held mass at Saint Catherine s Monastery at the same time.
Later on the same day, Gomaa participated with the other ministers in laying the foundation stone for El-Wadi El-Muqaddas Great Mosque.
Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat said the forum s slogan "Here We Pray Together" aimed at building bridges between people, and that it was one of the key elements in the promotional programme of Egypt tourism, "People 2 People," which invited the world to get to know the Egyptian people, and to fully live the Egyptian experience.
Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem also opened on Friday the rest house of the former president Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat s in Wadi Al-Raha in Saint Catherine city after it was renovated by the South Sinai governorate in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and adding a number of Sadat s photos and belongings to it.
