Under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, the celebration of the St. Catherine Forum for Religious Tolerance, "Here We Pray Together", organized by South Sinai Governorate, was launched in the presence of Maj. Gen. Khaled Fouda, Governor of South Sinai.
Eight ministers took part in the forum: Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism; Dr. Khaled El-Enany, Minister of Antiquities; Dr. Inas Abdel Dayem, Minister of Culture; Dr. Mokhtar Gomaa, Minister of Awqaf; Ambassador Nabila Makram, Minister of State for Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates' Affairs; Dr. Ali Moselhy, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade; Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Shaarawy, Minister of Local Development; and Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, Minister of Youth and Sports.
In addition, 32 ambassadors took part, including those of Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Switzerland, the European Union, Georgia, Colombia, Japan, Poland, Austria, Serbia, France, Belgium, Armenia, Malta, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, Oman, the Czech Republic and Tajikistan.
The Ministry of Tourism was keen to take part in this important forum as part of its efforts to promote tourism in South Sinai Governorate, particularly within the pillar of promoting each tourist area separately. South Sinai is also one of the governorates given special treatment in the new aviation stimulus program, as its inbound tourism rates have been affected recently, in order to drive more traffic to it.
For her part, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat stressed the importance of taking part in this forum, which comes under the patronage of the President of the Republic to send a message of safety to the world from the land of Sinai, pointing to the importance of the St. Catherine area, where the symbols of the three heavenly religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) embrace. In a rare scene that can only be found in Egypt (the land of peace), St. Catherine's Monastery embraces within its walls the Church of the Transfiguration, which holds the relics of St. Catherine, a mosque dating back to the Fatimid era, and the Burning Bush, where the Prophet Moses spoke to his Lord, making it a true complex of religions.
The minister said that the forum's slogan, "Here We Pray Together", which aims to build bridges of communication between people, is in line with the concept of one of the main elements of the promotion and marketing pillar, People 2 People, which invites the world to get to know the Egyptian people and live the Egyptian experience in all its historical, human, cultural and artistic aspects.
She explained that the city of St. Catherine is one of the destinations known for the diversity of its types of tourism, such as religious tourism, sports tourism such as mountain climbing, safari and others, in addition to the fact that the "Sinai Trail" passes through Mount St. Catherine. It is the first long-distance hiking trail in Egypt and one of the tourist hiking trails that aim to preserve the environment and develop and support the surrounding communities, which leads to achieving sustainable tourism development.
The ministers also took part in the opening of the rest house of the late President Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat after its development, with the addition of some personal belongings and possessions he used.
Afterwards, Dr. Khaled El-Enany, Minister of Antiquities, and Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, accompanied the ambassadors on a tour of St. Catherine's Monastery, where they visited the Church of the Transfiguration, the Mosque of Al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah and the Burning Bush, and listened to a detailed explanation of the history of the monastery and the important role it played throughout different historical eras. The ambassadors made sure to record their visit by taking souvenir photos.
