Egypt’s Minister of Immigration, Soha el-Guindi, said on Sunday that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi pays great attention to Egyptians who live in other countries.
The president, she said, is keen on connecting these Egyptians with their home country.
“The government places Egyptians living abroad on top of its priorities,” the minister said.
“We work to strengthen communication with these Egyptian nationals, solve the problems facing them, and pay attention to their needs,” she added in an interview with Ali Hassan editor in chief of the Middle East News Agency.
She added that Egypt also works hard to benefit from theexpertise of Egyptians living and working in other countries, involve them in development projects going on in the country, and integrate them into the national sustainable development plan.
Minister el-Guindi described Egyptians living and working in other countries as a ‘real privilege’ for Egypt.
They are, she said, the first line of defence for this country outside its national borders.
The minister noted that her ministry had set up a special office to receive complaints from Egyptians living and working in other countries.
This office, she said, works throughout the day and the night to communicate with Egyptians abroad.
“We also hold regular online meetings with in other countries every week,” the minister said.
She added that she also meets representatives of these Egyptian nationals to identify the challenges and problems facing Egyptian communities in other countries and find ways to solve them.
Minister el-Guindi noted that she also takes the chance of these meetings to inform these Egyptians about major developments taking place in Egypt in various fields.
She indicated that her ministry’s website contains information about the various services the ministry offers Egyptians in other countries.
She added that the website contains information about services in the fields of education, economy, banks, development projects and others.
She noted that the ministry also organizes visits to Egypt by the children of Egyptians living in other countries, in its bid to create the necessary bonds between these children and the home country of their parents.
“We coordinate these visits with various state institutions so that those who were not born in Egypt or raised in it,can come to it and know their homeland,” the minister said.
“Connecting Egyptians abroad with their motherland is one of the main goals of the government today,” she added.
Minister el-Guindi said her ministry organized successful visits to Egypt for a large number of Egyptians in various communities in the past four months.
Those visiting Egypt, she said, included young people who wanted to contribute to the construction of their country.
During some of the visits, the minister added, those participated held online meetings with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli and senior government officials.
She noted that senior government officials are always keen to update Egyptians living in other countries about developments in Egypt as well as the projects implemented by the state in all fields, including the Suez Canal Economic Zone;the New Administrative Capital; New Alamein, and others.
She pointed out that the Egyptian youth living in other countries are impressed by the achievements made in Egypt, contrary to negative news published about the country by what the minister described as ‘ suspicious media outlets’.
“Egypt is takes accelerated steps towards the future and the launch of major development and national projects,” the minister said.
