Egypt now hosts over nine million migrants and refugees currently residing within its borders, accounting for eight percent of the country’s population, announced Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in a conference statement on 23 July.
The statistic revealed by Madbouly comes in light of his attendance at the International Conference on Development and Migration in Rome.
“These individuals receive equal access to essential services provided by the government in education and healthcare and freedom of movement,” reads an official government social media statement reporting the speech.
The latest data also indicates a 50 percent increase in migrations to Egypt since 2018, in large part due to the recent wave of Sudanese refugees entering Egypt to escape the ongoing conflict.
The prime minister later shared that Egypt has welcomed approximately 40 percent of refugees coming from Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recorded over 250 thousand refugees from Sudan in Egypt on 5 July.
The monthly increase of Sudanese refugees in Egypt is expected to dwindle amid enforced visa regulations on 10 June that aimed to prohibit illegal border crossing.
The government also plans to further develop its migration policies in the coming year – primarily to crack down on illegal immigration and bolster border security. This includes cross-border cooperation and training migrants to be better skilled.
Madbouly referred to the recent Mediterranean migrant ship tragedy, which claimed the lives of several migrants, many of whom were Egyptian, pledging to guide the government to adopt a comprehensive approach to maintaining the safety of migrants.
Source : EgyptianStreets
