CAIRO: The government should do more to strengthen links between the Egyptian diaspora and their home country and make investment opportunities for Egyptians living abroad easier, new reports issued by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) say. Three reports by the IOM on migration and development in Egypt were launched this week at a seminar held in Cairo, in which experts discussed issues surrounding the estimated 3.9 million — according to a 2008 statistic from CAPMAS — Egyptians working abroad. Shahidul Haque, IOM regional representative for the Middle East, said that with its large, young population, Egypt “has the potential to play an important role” in the increasing demand for foreign labor. Remittances by expats have come to represent a main segment of GDP since large numbers of Egyptians began migrating in 1974. As early as 1979 “these remittances amounted to $2 billion, a sum equivalent to the country's combined earnings from cotton exports, the Suez Canal, transit fees and tourism,” says IOM's report “A Study on the Dynamics of the Egyptian Diaspora: Strengthening Development Linkages.” Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United States and Italy remain popular destination countries for Egyptian migrant workers. According to IOM's report “Egyptian Entrepreneurs in Italy through the Global Crisis: Fears, Hopes and Strategies,” the size of the Egyptian community doubled from 34,000 to 75,000 between 2003 and 2008. While according to the report “A Study on Remittances and Investment Opportunities for Egyptian Migrants” remittance contributions to Egypt's GDP has declined from 14.6 percent in 1992 to 5 percent in 2006, “remittances remain an important capital inflow for Egypt,” with an estimated $7.8 billion worth of remittances in 2009, according to IOM. Despite this large volume of remittances, the government needs to do more to promote investment in Egypt by expats, the report “A Study on Remittances and Investment Opportunities for Egyptian Migrants” says. It recommends that the Egyptian government put in place specific programs in different governorates to provide business and investment advice to migrant families and migrants themselves. It also says that the banking sectors need to be encouraged to start packages “explicitly targeting emigrants.” The report also recommends that since wives and parents of migrants “play a critical role in remittance spending and investment,” programs should be developed to “educate and assist with information to improve levels of financial literacy and capacities to better manage investment.” A survey of 323 Egyptian expats living in Kuwait, the US and the UK found that migrants have several key concerns, including preservation of Egyptian national identity and in particular links of second generation Egyptians with Egypt, military service demands, and “a lack of understanding and negligence of staff” working in Egyptian embassies. “It is important for the government to take actions to promote a positive image about its role and functions among its citizens abroad,” reads the “Study on the Dynamics of the Egyptian Diaspora.” “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to conduct an evaluation or assessment to better understand the performance of the Egyptian missions abroad and to launch a media campaign to promote a more positive image of its consulates and embassies throughout the world,” it continues. Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for International Economic Relations Khaled Emara defended Egypt's embassy and consulate staff, saying that “it will take time to improve the relationship” between staff and Egyptian expats. Emara added that Egyptian citizens “have a duty to seek out the information which is widely provided on the internet”, a point which is challenged by one member of the seminar who alleged that a government portal provides “incorrect and contradictory” information on investment in Egypt.
