Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa delivers a Friday sermon for the first time in Halayeb's El-Tawba Mosque, approximately 1,200 kms from the capital Cairo (Photo: Al-Ahram)
Egypt’s state TV broadcast yesterday Friday's prayers from the country’s southernmost Halayeb and Shalateen area in the Red Sea Governorate for the first time ever.
Egypt's Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa delivered Friday’s sermon at Al-Tawba Mosque in Halayeb, which is approximately located more than 1,000 kilometers away from the capital.
Gomaa said Egypt has entered a new phase in building a government which provides for all of its citizens and develops its border regions in an equitable way to its capital.
Gomaa added that Egypt is fighting the forces of terrorism in North Sinai through economic development and construction projects.
The minister also praised economic development efforts in the governorates of Matrouh in the northwest and El-Wadi El-Gedid in the southwest.
Following the prayers, Gomaa attended a religious seminar in the city over the consolidation of the principles of mercy, justice, and faith, where he announced that 20 of the area’s residents will be appointed in the city’s mosques and that 100 new homes will be constructed in the city as a donation from his ministry.
The minister said that housing construction in Halayeb and Shalateen in the last four years has surpassed what was accomplished in this field in the past 30 years by five times.
The endowment’s minister visit, which started on Thursday, comes as Egypt announced on Wednesday that a new weekly television and radio programme from the area would be broadcasted with the aim of "enhancing the sense of belonging for Egyptians in this area."
The foundation stone of a new state-owned radio station's headquarters was set in the city of Halayeb in March 2014.
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