Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pledged to guarantee freedom of religion and belief in the country, two days after gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians on their way back from visiting a monastery in Minya, leaving seven dead and at least 10 injured. Sisi was speaking at an event during the second day of the World Youth Forum, held in Sharm El-Sheikh, South Sinai. It was attended by 5,000 participants of different nationalities, as well as a number of international officials and prominent Egyptian officials. Addressing the audience, Sisi stated that in Egypt there was no authority that rules places of worship, except for mosques, adding that everyone has the right to worship. Sisi explained that if Egypt had other religions, the state would build places of worship for them. “The country has been keen on building churches in new and old cities, and even [places of worship] for other religions, for Jewish citizens,” he said, adding: “A citizen is free to worship or not worship; everyone is free, and the state does not interfere in this.” The president also highlighted the importance of “reforming religious discourse” initiative, which he said “is one of the most important demands of Egypt and the world." Speaking at another event, on "Rebuilding societies and States in the context of post-conflict," Sisi said that the course of reform in Egypt "is a national responsibility and this has been proven through the Egyptian experience." He said that countries have had to pay a great humanitarian, financial and moral cost due to the crises and chaos they have endured. He continued: "The people who demanded change and acted in good faith aiming to achieve reform in their country, lost more due to chaos than it would have lost if the situation in their country remained unchanged." Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, reiterated that Cairo’s foreign policy in the field of building and sustaining peace is based on the concept of “non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries” and promoting political solutions to resolve crises, in accordance with international resolutions and agreements. The meeting was also attended by UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, Special Representative of UN Sec-Gen (SRSG) to Libya, Ghassan Salame, Director of the Geneva Center for Security Policy Christian Dussey, and Lebanese State Minister for Presidential Affairs Pierre Raffoul. A session on “Water security in the wake of climate change" recommended integrating and motivating young people to face the challenges of climate change and providing networks for integration and effective communication with society and governments. Sisi pointing out that corruption is one of the negative impressions taken of Africa, specifically regarding weak anti-corruption measures, if there are procedures at all. Sisi expressed Cairos interest in achieving stability in Europe “because the common interest is our [Egypt and Europes] stability and our security.” The “Model Arab African Summit” was also discussed in the forum by a number of dignitaries, including the representative of Eritrea, who praised the "Peace Agreement with Ethiopia" and the "rapid response from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to achieve peace.”