Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis and his Egyptian counterpart for European Affairs Ihab Nasr signed today, Tuesday, November 22, in Cairo, a bilateral agreement for the employment of 5,000 seasonal agricultural workers. The Intergovernmental Agreement, which is being concluded for the first time at the diplomatic level, provides for the entry and residence in Greece of workers from the Arab Republic of Egypt for the purpose of seasonal employment in the agricultural sector.
This involves 5,000 agricultural workers, during the first year of pilot implementation, with a maximum stay of nine (9) months per period of one year.
The Agreement aims to meet labour needs in the agricultural sector and can serve as a “guide” for future agreements between our country and the EU as a whole with third countries so as to combat illegal migration.
“Today, with the signing of the Agreement with Egypt, we are meeting a demand of the Greek periphery for more workers so that it can meet the growing needs of the agricultural sector”, Mr. Varvitsiotis emphasized. “At the same time, a huge step is being taken”, the Alternate Minister stated, “since for the first time our country is creating conditions for legal migration within the framework of a bilateral agreement”. As he explained, it is the Egyptian authorities that will select which Egyptians will be permitted to come and work in our country for a set period of time and be obliged to return once this cycle is completed. “It is very important for us to deepen our relationship with Egypt in terms of labour movement as well. We are happy because the Egyptian authorities have moved quickly to conclude this agreement, and we hope that the first Egyptian workers will be in the Greek fields early next year to help harvest the next crop”, Mr. Varvitsiotis concluded.
Earlier, Mr. Varvitsiotis attended the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Greece and Egypt on Cooperation in the Fields of Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue, by the Minister of National Defence Nikos Panagiotopoulos and his Egyptian counterpart M. Zaki.
Afterwards, the Alternate Minister together with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, participated in the expanded talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.