FM, EU commissioner discuss assisted return of Egypt-hosted illegal migrants

CAIRO – 10 September 2024: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expats Badr Abdelatty and EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson met in Cairo on Monday to discuss bolstering cooperation on migration.

The two sides underscored – in a joint statement – the successful and long partnership between the European Union and Egypt in the field of migration, and that was further reinforced after signing the strategic comprehensive partnership agreement on March 17, 2024, whose one of its six pillars is migration.  

In alignment with the agreement, Minister Abdelatty and Commissioner Johansson stressed the importance of addressing the root causes of illegal migration, and that are intertwined with low levels of development.

In a related context, Johansson commended the efforts Egypt had been deploying to inhibit illegal migration as no single boat had sailed from its Mediterranean shores since 2016. That is in addition to the rescue missions it has been carrying out in the sea.

The commissioner equally lauded the management of the flow of migrants to Egypt, and combating cross-border criminal groups committing human trafficking and migrant smuggling. In that context, the two parties underlined the salience of cooperating on consolidating border management and combating the aforementioned networks.

On his side, Minister Abdelatty stipulated the importance of facilitating legal migration, raising awareness on illegal migration risks, as well as modernizing education and vocational training to sharpen skills, increase employment chances, create job opportunities, and facilitate moving to the EU among Egyptians.

In turn, the EU commissioner expressed appreciation to Egypt for hosting nine million refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, providing them with essential services and not putting them in camps.

Johansson concurred the difficulties pertaining to that fact, affirming that the EU would continue to support Egypt on that front along with exploring chances of assisted return, and legal migration to the union's countries.

Equally, the two sides vowed commitment to the international human rights law when dealing with migration, and concerting efforts through the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), and European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).

Minister Abdelatty and Commissioner Johansson discussed facilitating the assisted return of Egyptians who illegally migrated to the EU and reintegrating them back. That is in tandem with boosting support to assisted return among illegal migrants in Egypt.