Egypt's Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Nabila Makram discussed on Monday ways to cooperate with the World Food Programme (WFP) in order to combat illegal immigration. She reviewed with a delegation from the WFP headed by Menghestab Haile, the Country Director of the WFP in Egypt, the efforts made by the ministry to implement Mrakb el-Nagaa (Survival Boats) initiative. Both Makram and Haile agreed to cooperate to develop a comprehensive work programme aimed at reaching the target groups, identifying their skills, and promoting it, to motivate and encourage the youth, as a way to combat illegal immigration. Makram also indicated that the ministry is planning to organise an event for foreign ambassadors in Egypt, to exchange experiences of other countries, highlighting the necessity to launch a collective action plan in cooperation with the WFP, to make the Egyptian experience a global initiative. The Survival Boats initiative is an awareness campaign to provide training programmes for youth in addition to create job opportunities and safe alternatives for them in various aspects. During the meeting, Haile welcomed the idea of cooperating with the Ministry of Immigration by supporting the Survival Boats initiative, praising the ongoing development process in Egypt, especially infrastructure projects and massive educational projects. He also stressed the need to identify target groups in order to achieve the initiative's goals, expressing his willingness along with his work team to cooperate and provide the necessary support for the success of the initiative, as well as promoting the initiative globally in cooperation with the African Union and the European Union.
