Egyptian Campaign to Combat Illegal Migration

Egypt has launched the second phase of its “Lifeboats” initiative aimed at raising awareness on the dangers of leaving the country illegally and providing secure alternatives.

The launching ceremony took place on Tuesday in Beheira governorate, which is considered one of the largest hubs of migrant trafficking.

“Egypt is keen on dealing with this phenomenon from a comprehensive perspective, which includes addressing the root causes that drive citizens to migrate,” said Egypt’s Manpower Minister Mohamed Saafan.

Egyptian authorities have succeeded in stemming migration flows to Europe by tightening border controls and establishing the national legislative framework to combat illegal migration.

Due to these measures, not a single boat carrying migrants has sailed to Europe from the Egyptian coast since September 2016, Saafan noted.

The initiative was launched in December 2019 and has been activated earlier this month in Fayoum governorate. Three officials, including Saafan, Immigration Minister Nabila Makram and Social Solidarity Minister Nevin Kabbaj, participated in launching the initiative’s second phase in Beheira on Tuesday.

According to Makram, the initiative aims at providing a decent life for Egyptian citizens, protecting them from the dangers of illegal migration, raising awareness among school students and launching projects by holding a meeting between young people from the governorate and officials of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) body.

Kabbaj announced allocating up to EGP50 million for the initiative, with 20 million for its first stage.

She said EGP10 million will be provided in the form of financing for loans without interest, at an average loan of EGP15,000 with a grace period of six months.

In addition to that, she explained, EGP5 million pounds will be provided in the form of collective and individual production projects, whose quality and locations will be studied according to the nature of activities in the targeted areas, as well as EGP5 million pounds to finance training for the labor market.