Egypt determined not to become a transit point for illegal migrants

Egypt is hosting a regional conference in the Red Sea province to exchange expertise on combating irregular migration.

Ai Cập tiếp đón 9 triệu người di cư từ 133 quốc gia, theo IOM. (Nguồn: Ahram)

Egypt hosts 9 million migrants from 133 countries, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). (Source: Ahram)

According to Ahram news site, the conference took place from August 28-30 with the participation of 27 countries from Europe, Africa and North America as well as relevant international organizations.

Organized by the National Coordination Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons (NCCPIM&TIP), the event is part of Egypt’s national strategy to combat illegal migration. The conference also aims to strengthen the efforts of Egyptian authorities to combat migration and protect migrants, especially unaccompanied children.

In a statement to Egypt's official news agency MENA, head of NCCPIM&TIP Naela Gabr stressed Egypt's interest in promoting regional cooperation to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

Combating this phenomenon is difficult “without regional cooperation and exchange of expertise,” Gabr said.

As the destination of some 9 million migrants from 133 countries, Egypt has repeatedly affirmed that it will do everything to avoid becoming a transit point for illegal migrants seeking to reach Europe.

In fact, Egypt has been working to address irregular migration since it launched its first strategy on the subject in 2016.

At that time, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi launched a national strategy to combat irregular migration. Law 82/2016 criminalized all forms of smuggling of migrants, in addition to combating the activities of those involved in such acts.

In 2022, the law was amended, increasing fines and penalties for those who commit crimes but do not report them.

Egypt is also taking measures to increase household incomes and create jobs in the provinces – the main source of irregular migrants – to address the root causes of the problem.

In 2019, the North African country launched the Lifeboat initiative, allocating 250 million EGP (over 8 million USD) to provide employment opportunities in 70 villages across the country with high levels of irregular migration.

As part of its cooperation with Egypt to reduce irregular migration, the EU granted Egypt 80 million euros last June for border management, search and rescue and enhanced anti-smuggling operations.

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