Addressing Italian Senate on illegal migration: Egyptian ambassador urges Europe to invest in Africa's infrastructure

CAIRO – 16 July 2023: Egyptian Ambassador to Rome Bassam Rady delivered a speech before the Italian Senate presenting the efforts deployed by Egypt since 2016 to prevent any illegal migration cases from its shores.

Rady stressed that all illegal migrants that had infirtlated into Italy took off from neighboring states. In that framework, he asserted that the solution would not be closing borders or security handling. Rather, it should tackle the root cause.

The ambassador urged Europe to carry out serious studies to implement massive infrastructure projects in Africa, particularly those pertinent to connecting African states together through roads, railways, and shipping lines. In that way, infra-African trade would be bolstered, and jobs would be created, which in turn would reduce the rates of illegal migration.  

The diplomat added that Europe had major investment opportunities in Egypt and Africa by involving its companies in infrastructure projects, which would be a "win-win situation."

On that front, he underscored that Italy had a rich history, great contributions in human civilization, and was a founding member of the European Union, which qualified it to lead the developmental process in Africa.

Ambassador Rady concluded by shedding light on the fact that Egypt hosts nine million migrants, and has no refugee camps, as refugees enjoy all basic rights such as work, trade, mobility, and property ownership, noting that numbers have recently risen due to the Sudanese crisis.