Joint training between Egypt, Jordan in Ras Muhammad Protectorate, Aqaba Marine Reserve: Minister

CAIRO – 11 August 2023: Egypt and Jordan have agreed to conduct intensive joint training on preserving natural reserves in both countries, announced Egyptian Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad in a statement on Friday.

The training will be conducted in Egypt’s Ras Muhammad Reserve in South Sinai and Aqaba Marine Reserve in Jordan, added the Minister during her tour of the Jordanian reserve. The training program will focus on monitoring and resolving crises within reserves and how to deal with the tourism sector inside the reserves, the Minister added.

Fouad made another tour of Wadi Rum Protected Area in Jordan. In 2011, the 4,000-hectare protectorate was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Fouad was updated on the mechanisms of operation of the reserve and on how local communities are involving in its management with providing various ecotourism activities through their heritage and traditions.

The Egyptian Minister of the Environment said that there is a similarity between the Wadi Ram Reserve in Jordan and the St. Catherine Reserve in Egypt’s South Sinai, in terms of being UNESCO world cultural heritage sites, saying “this shows the great convergence between the Jordanian and Egyptian experience in the field of nature protection and ecotourism.”