Deadline for unregistered NGOs to become official in Egypt announced

CAIRO – 12 September 2021: Assistant Minister of Social Solidarity for Civil Work Ayman Abdel Mawgoud indicated Sunday that the deadline for NGOs, that have not yet made themselves official in Egypt, is December 31.

Otherwise, the ministry would file lawsuits before the Administrative Judiciary in order to get shut down verdicts against those NGOs.

The official noted that all such NGOs have to do is register themselves on the designated website informing the authorities of their presence, in a process that takes a maximum of 15 minutes.  

Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine al-Qabaj stated in January that 413 NGOs that were affiliated to terror organizations had been confiscated by the ministry and are now fulfilling their mission in serving the society.

The minister added that Egypt currently has 52,000 local NGOs, and 59 foreign NGOs. The minister elaborated that the size of foreign funds granted to NGOs in Egypt in 2020 is LE2 billion. The grants came from American, French, German, and Swiss entities.

Qabaj stated that foreign funding is allowed as long as the source is known and is not suspected of involvement in terrorism, extremism, or money laundering.