Government ministers have signed a protocol with national charity Misr El-Kheir which would make the organisation responsible for repatriating the bodies of Egyptians who died abroad, MENA agency reported. In statements to the press following the joint signing between the immigration and health ministries, the charity's chairman of the board of trustees Ali Gomaa, Immigration Minister Nabila Makram said Misr El-Kheir Foundation would bear the costs of transferring the bodies back home. Makram said that previously poor families would submit a form to the social solidarity ministry to the effect that they could not cover the costs of repatriation of a dead relative. Details on the minimum and maximum payments provided by the foundation were not disclosed. It was not immediately clear if the protocol would only cover poorer Egyptians. "The cooperation between both ministries and the organisation came as a result of the political leadership's sense of the suffering of Egyptians abroad in transferring the bodies of the deceased and the difficulties they face," Makram said. Gomaa, who was formerly the country's grand mufti, praised the charity, describing the cooperation as one that comes in accordance with its duty towards Egyptians, particularly after ten years of work in the country. Established in 2007, Misr El-Kheir focuses on human development via five key aspects; health, education, scientific research, and social solidarity. Source: Ahram online
