Egypt Inaugurates New Village Development Project for Bedouins in South Sinai

Egypt inaugurated a new village development project in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday, 26 September, to improve the standards of living and provide job opportunities for indigenous Bedouin communities.

This inauguration was attended by Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala Al Said, Governor of South Sinai, Khaled Fouda.

During the inauguration, El Said explained that the new village encapsulates the main ingredients of building a sustainable community, which includes various services to provide job opportunities in agriculture, training for women and youth, as well as green, affordables homes.

For his part, Fouda underscored that the project came to fruition as a result of the coordination of all parties – government, the private sector and civil society. The main goal of the project, he added, is to reduce the gap between rural and urban areas in Sinai, and ensure that rural communities have access to similar services and standard of living.

He added that this is not the final stage of the project, as there is an ongoing plan to continue upgrading the infrastructure for several villages for Bedouin communities. He also called on Egypt’s civil society to participate in these projects to maximize impact and efficiency.

The project comes within an integrated initiative to improve villages in South Sinai in cooperation with the Egyptian Federation for Financing Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises, and with funding from several private companies and NGOs, namely Reefy, Tasahel, Tanmia, and Ana El Masry Foundation.