Egypt has approved the legalisation of 90 unlicensed churches and affiliated service premises since the beginning of December, bringing the total number of legalised churches to 1,412 since 2017, according to a statement issued by the cabinet on Tuesday.

In a meeting with the committee tasked with regulating churches' status, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stressed on the government's efforts to finalise the legalisation of unlicensed churches soon.

The meeting, which comes a few days ahead of Coptic Orthodox Christmas celebrations, was attended by the ministers of justice, local development, housing, parliamentary affairs, and representatives of concerned authorities.

Egypt passed a law in 2016 easing regulations on church building.