CAIRO — As a part of the Survival Ships initiative that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had launched to combat illegal immigration in December 2019, Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram and Minister for Religious Endowments Mokhtar Gomaa signed a cooperation protocol Oct. 26. The protocol is designed to benefit from the efforts the Endowment Ministry’s scholars deployed to raise religious awareness of the dangers of illegal immigration in the governorates that are most affected by this phenomenon.

Makram said in an official statement released by the Cabinet Oct. 26 that the Survival Ships initiative aims to fight illegal immigration and provide safe alternatives in the governorates that are most affected by this phenomenon, through training sessions and awareness campaigns among the youth in cooperation with the concerned ministries and state institutions.

She added that the latest cooperation protocol aims to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal immigration during Friday sermons, through various TV and radio programs hosted by senior imams and through articles published by the scholars of the Religious Endowments Ministry in newspapers and magazines. The protocol, Makram continued, also seeks to encourage experts in the various fields to support the initiative against illegal immigration and simplify the religious discourse for the targeted youth accross Egypt.

During the third edition of the World Youth Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh in December 2019, Sisi had tasked the Ministry of Irrigation and concerned authorities to implement the Survival Ships initiative.