Egypt - The Egyptian Government, in cooperation with IOM, and with the financial support of the Italian-Egyptian Debt Swap, yesterday launched a video conferencing system in Cairo designed to build stronger ties with Egyptians living abroad.

Egyptian and Italian officials inaugurated the video conference room in the Emigration Department of Egypt’s Ministry of Manpower and Migration (MoMM). The system will provide Egyptian officials with a permanent communication channel to interact with representatives of Egyptian communities abroad.

Egypt is forging new and stronger ties with its expatriate communities and Egyptians abroad, especially young people, are now participating in shaping the future of their country. In August 2013, MoMM with IOM`s support organized the 7th General Conference of Egyptians Abroad, “Egypt in the Heart”. The event aimed to build stronger economic, political and cultural links with the Egyptian diaspora.

Egypt also took part in the October 2013 High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development at the UN General Assembly in New York. 

Previously IOM Egypt, MoMM and the Italian-Egyptian Debt Swap Program developed IMIS – an Integrated Migration Information System designed to strengthen the capacity of the government to promote and manage labour migration, harness its development potential and curb irregular flows.

IMIS aims to help MoM to manage labour migration from Egypt by matching job seekers with employers through a web-based database at www.emigration.gov.eg. Egyptian jobseekers can upload their CVs to the site and employers can post their job vacancies.

The database provides Egyptian jobseekers with access to jobs in the international labour market and allows prospective employers in countries of destination to identify suitably qualified Egyptians to fill vacancies.

With an estimated eight million Egyptian migrants living abroad, many of whom retain close ties with their homeland, Egypt needs to forge stronger and more sustainable ties with its expatriates.

Egypt is the sixth largest beneficiary worldwide of remittances sent home by migrant workers and expects to receive some US$20 billion in 2013. It receives about 40 percent of all remittances sent home from the Middle East and North Africa.

For more information please contact

Piera Francesca Solinas
IOM Cairo
Email: pfsolinas@iom.int
Tel: +20 (0)2 27365140