By: Ahmed Hassan, Christine Awni, Soha Salah, and Wissam Amr

 “Victims and missing persons as a result of the sinking of an illegal immigration boat.” We often hear and see such news in our lives from time to time, in addition to the stories told to us by people who almost ended their lives just because they clung to an idea, one idea that could lead you to perish, believing that what Beyond the sea there is no equal, and they will obtain all their requirements in life.

This phenomenon varies between high and low, so there is no fixed base, but it certainly poses a real danger to everyone, as it is a desperate attempt to escape from reality and a journey fraught with danger.

This idea may be true or false, and as they say, “experienced people know more than fortune-tellers.” Knowing the truth requires you to listen to people with expertise and specialize in this regard, and rely on their opinions and advice to correct the erroneous ideas that we believe in. That is why we turned to Ambassador Dr. Suha Al-Jundi, Minister of Immigration and Social Affairs The Egyptians abroad, let us discuss with her in several axes, the most important of which is the Ministry’s new initiative, “The Lifeboats” and the measures it takes to reduce the phenomenon of illegal immigration, and how to correct those concepts spread among Egyptians, especially the youth group. We did not stop talking to her at that point, but rather extended to how the Ministry is concerned Egyptian communities abroad.

 First, does the Egyptian state encourage immigration in general?

El-Gendy replied, “We certainly do not oppose young people’s desires to work abroad or to emigrate, considering it a human right, but we seek to provide safe opportunities and to qualify and train young people culturally and technically according to what the foreign labor market needs.” She continued, “Therefore, the role of the Ministry of Immigration is to raise awareness of the harms of illegal immigration Legitimacy that leads to young people losing their lives and being manipulated by human traffickers.

- Regarding illegal immigration, what are the initiatives taken by the Ministry to reduce it?

In this regard, El-Gendy explained that the presidential initiative, "The Lifeboats", is considered one of the most important files that the Ministry of Immigration is working on, in implementation of the mandates and directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, to raise awareness of the dangers of the phenomenon of illegal immigration, indicating that she has met with specialists in immigration and cooperation in the field of combating Illegal immigration from home and abroad, in a way that serves our youth abroad, and youth in the villages that export illegal immigration, as well as developing awaren .

What about the impact of those initiatives undertaken by the Ministry?

She replied proudly, “Certainly, the visits we make in the governorates and villages that most export illegal immigration are very influential because people see the official or minister going to them in their villages and places in order to talk to them in the same way they talk, consult with them and listen to them, and therefore all these matters positively affect the decision of the children And the family in the phenomenon of illegal immigration.

 How can we benefit from our immigrant minds abroad and link them to the homeland?

“Our experts and scholars abroad are an honorable face for Egypt in all international forums,” said the Minister of Immigration, and added, the political leadership has always confirmed that scholars are an essential part and a locomotive that drives the development process in Egypt and a backbone for all major national projects, as President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is keen to have a council To Egyptian scientists as scientific advisors to him and to the Presidency, as they are the main locomotive for advancing the development process in the new republic. 

 The Ministry of Immigration works to link Egyptian scholars abroad with their home country through a series of specialized conferences "Egypt Can" organized by the Ministry to support development efforts in accordance with national priorities in the sectors of education, investment, water, agriculture and women`s participation in development with the aim of establishing and defining permanent coordination mechanisms between ministries and concerned authorities at home and experts. And Egyptian cadres abroad, which resulted in many projects with the participation of Egyptian scientists and experts abroad. 

 In your opinion, does Egyptian labor need more training and qualification?

El-Gendy praised the Egyptian workforce, especially the craftsmanship, and said that it is distinguished and skilled in its specialization, stressing that the Egyptian workforce has a good reputation because it integrates into societies and respects the cultures of the host country. Therefore, the Ministry was keen to start training and qualifying young people before traveling, for example, the Egyptian Center The German Center for Employment, Immigration and Reintegration offers specialized courses for young people in many fields, both vocational and vocational training and introducing the culture of the host country, in addition to launching branches of the center in the governorates that export illegal immigration. 

 - What about the mechanisms of communication with Egyptian expatriates abroad? 

Suha El-Gendy indicated that the Ministry of Immigration periodically discusses future work plans and the most prominent files within the work strategy 2023-2024, as communication with Egyptians abroad, of all categories, in various possible ways, is one of the pillars of the Ministry of Immigration, and this is reflected in the "Hour" initiative. With the Minister”, which is held weekly, to meet with Egyptian communities abroad, present the incentives offered by the Ministry to them and solve their problems, and listen to their proposals in various fields, to work on solving them by various means, in coordination with all ministries and institutions of the Egyptian state, and the Ministry is keen to link Egyptians abroad At home, and involving representatives of the various concerned authorities to respond to the inquiries of Egyptians abroad.

And she continued, all this is in addition to the ministry’s keenness to visit the Egyptian communities abroad in the largest gatherings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE to listen to all demands and proposals and put forward the various incentives and facilities that the ministry implemented for the Egyptians abroad, and through the Complaints Office and the Communication Department, it follows up the position of the Egyptians abroad 24 hours a day. To solve their problems, and stand by them in crises.

 How does the ministry deal with the crises that Egyptians abroad are going through, the latest of which is the Ukrainian war and the earthquake in Turkey?

Al-Jundi stated that since the signs of the crisis appeared, the Ministry of Immigration was keen on continuous follow-up and coordination with the concerned state ministries and institutions, as the political leadership directed all concerned agencies to follow up the position of citizens in Ukraine, in addition to the convening of the Ministry’s operations room, and expressed its keenness to communicate and follow-up the situation in many Ukrainian cities, in contact with representatives of the Egyptian community in Ukraine, and representatives of the Ministry of Immigration Center for Dialogue.

We were keen to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide safe ways for our children to leave the conflict areas, and to coordinate for the return of our children from Ukraine to the homeland, as well as coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education to allow them to enroll in private and private universities after passing admission tests, equivalence of certificates and conducting Examinations to enroll in universities in Egypt to complete their studies, and to receive 3 different batches, in addition to coordination to ensure the safety of the Egyptian community in Ukraine, as there were a large number of Egyptians who went since the beginning of the crisis to countries such as Poland, Romania, Sweden, Germany and other neighboring countries.  

- Do Egyptians abroad have positive effects on the national economy, especially during the economic crisis the world is going through?

"Egyptians abroad have pure metal and show their authenticity in times of distress," thus the Minister of Immigration spoke with a voice full of pride in Egypt`s youth, noting that the remittances of Egyptians abroad come among the top ten in the world, stressing that these remittances are pumped into the arteries of the national economy, in addition to providing the necessary hard currency to meet Our needs, explaining that Egyptians abroad in various forums are keen to contribute to development efforts, whether by pumping investments in various fields, or contributing to the development of the local community and community service in the governorates that most export illegal immigration, and we have seen that support in various initiatives in addition to supporting the youth of the second generation. The third is for development efforts, including providing support of about 3 million pounds for the presidential initiative, a decent life.

 How does the state try to attract investment and investors from abroad and benefit from them?

The contributions of Egyptians abroad to the Egyptian economy are of great importance. This is evidenced by the increase in remittances to Egyptians abroad, to reach in 2021 that Egypt will be one of the highest countries in the world in terms of remittances.

She said that work is being done in cooperation with all ministries and concerned authorities, and many measures and executive steps have been taken in this regard, as work has been done to establish an investment company for Egyptians abroad that includes various economic activities, after presenting the proposal to the Prime Minister, who issued his directives in coordination and work immediately to establish The company, which was among the recommendations and requests it received during the third conference of Egyptian entities abroad last August, and many meetings were held with officials and ministers to discuss the optimal proposal for its establishment, as well as meeting with Egyptian investors abroad, and discussing the best areas in which they wish to invest, in addition to To cooperate with Egyptian experts and investors abroad, and seek to come up with an administrative and executive structure of shareholders and the Ministry’s plans to overcome any obstacle it faces, so that the company carries the slogan “From Egyptians to Egyptians.”

El-Gendy said, The National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr offered an investment dollar certificate with a high return, after a meeting with Hassan Abdullah, Governor of the Central Bank, and presenting the demands of Egyptians abroad to him, as the new golden certificate was offered for a period of 3 years with returns of up to 5.30% annually.

 - The presidential initiative "I speak Arabic" is of utmost importance to our children abroad. What are the latest developments in the initiative?

The Minister of Immigration indicated that the initiative aims to enhance awareness and belonging among the children of Egyptians abroad. In the first phase of the initiative, the Ministry launched pages on social media platforms to display special educational materials, and then launched the "I Speak Arabic" application via mobile phone to teach the Arabic language through a trip in The features of the map of Egypt, and it is suitable for children from 5 to 12 years old, and other implementation mechanisms. 

She explained that the presidential initiative "I speak Arabic" is currently being worked on, and the second phase of it has been launched under the name "Our Egyptian Roots" to educate the people of Egypt about their identity and their great history and introduce them to the Arabic language.