'Here We Pray Together' boosts religious tourism in Sinai

CAIRO – 28 September 2017: The events of the religious conference “Sinai: The Forum of Divine Religions ... Here We Pray Together" kicks off on Thursday to enhance religious tourism in South Sinai.

The three-day conference is launched with the attendance of representatives from 70 countries, under the sponsorship of UNESCO.

During the conference, a number of religious leaders will tour South Sinai to support religious tourism.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail stressed in the conference on the importance of tourism in Egypt as a locomotive of development and economy in light of Egypt's geographical and tourism components.

Ismail hailed the efforts of the South Sinai governorate and the special preparations of the conference. He also praised the efforts of the various bodies in organizing this international conference.

Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa stated that “there is no city in the world that enjoys comprehensive tourism like South Sinai.”

This conference confirms that life in Sinai is ordinary and that the terror groups tried to distort the image of the country, Gomaa added.

He said that changing the conference title from “Sinai: the capital of religious tourism" to “Sinai: The Forum of divine religions ... Let's pray together" came to assure that Sinai has the foundations of coexistence among all human beings.

The head of the parliament’s Religious Affairs Committee Osama Al-Abd called to create a communication channel to bring all religions together, assuring that the committee will continue its work to enhance religious tourism.

“Sinai: Here We Pray Together” aims to combat and denounce terrorism and extremism by highlighting Egypt’s role as a site for religious heritage since the Abrahamic times.

The conference is an important chance for a dialogue of civilizations, as key religious figures from different countries will attend.