First list of Egyptian workers presented

The first list of 2,400 Egyptian nationals who will work in Greece was received from the Egyptian government by Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Kairidis during his visit to the country on Friday.

The workers will gradually come to Greece until the end of the year to work mainly in the agricultural sector. The transnational agreement, which was ratified by the Greek Parliament last November, covers 5,000 workers, a number that can be increased to meet the labor needs in other sectors such as construction and tourism.

The agreement was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis and he had spoken in Parliament about a model agreement to meet the needs of the agricultural sector and to limit illegal immigration.

The workers have been selected to come via the new residence permit that has been in force since the beginning of the year.

The residence permit granted will be valid for nine months and will be linked to the employment of the workers.

Sources at the Migration Ministry told Kathimerini that the relevant platform, where the details of migrants and their skills will be posted, is ready so that potential employers can select the workers they need. The process will then be handled through the Greek Consulate.

The 2,400 applications will start being processed in the summer, according to the minister, who did not rule out an extension of the agreement.

During his visit to Egypt, Kairidis raised the issue of illegal migrant trafficking and stressed the need for closer cooperation to jointly prevent illegal flows from the central Mediterranean corridor.

At the same time, he noted the need to intensify the return of rejected Egyptian asylum seekers to their country of origin.

“Greek-Egyptian relations are currently at the best level in their history,” Kairidis said after meeting with Egyptian Migration Minister Soha Gendi.