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CAIRO — The European Union on Sunday granted a 7.4 billion euro ($8 billion) grant to cash-strapped Egypt, amid growing concerns that economic pressures and conflict in neighboring countries could lead to more migrants entering Europe. announced support measures.
The agreement, which has drawn criticism from rights groups over Egypt’s human rights record, was signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Cairo on Sunday afternoon. It was done. The ceremony was attended by the leaders of Belgium, Italy, Austria, Cyprus and Greece.
“Your visit today represents a very important milestone in Egypt’s relations with the European Union,” Sisi told visiting European leaders. He said the agreement marked a “paradigm shift in our partnership.”
The aid package includes both grants and loans for the Arab world’s most populous country for the next three years, according to the EU mission in Cairo. Most of the funding – 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) – will be macro-financial support, according to a document from the EU delegation to Egypt.
The mission said the two countries have promoted cooperation to the level of a “strategic and comprehensive partnership”, paving the way for expanding Egyptian-EU cooperation in various economic and non-economic fields.
In a joint statement after the summit, the European Union recognized Egypt as a reliable partner and recognizes its unique and vital geostrategic role as a pillar of security, moderation and peace in the Mediterranean, Near East and Africa regions. “
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose country played a major role in reaching the deal, hailed it as “historic”.
“This initiative demonstrates our willingness to strengthen and encourage new structural ways of cooperation between our two countries in the Mediterranean,” he said at the Egypt-EU Summit in Cairo.
The agreement, known as the Joint Declaration, aims to promote “democracy, fundamental freedoms, human rights and gender equality,” among other things, according to the European Commission. The two countries will also deepen cooperation to address challenges related to migration and terrorism.
The EU will provide support to the Egyptian government to strengthen its border with Libya, a key transit point for migrants fleeing poverty and conflict, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. The 27-nation bloc also plans to help the government host Sudanese people who have fled fighting between rival generals in their country for nearly a year. Egypt has hosted more than 460,000 Sudanese since April last year.
The agreement comes amid growing concerns that an Israeli ground offensive on Rafah, the southernmost town in the Gaza Strip, is looming and could force hundreds of thousands of people into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. . The Israel-Hamas war is now in its sixth month, with more than 1 million people forced into Rafah.
According to Egypt, there are 9 million migrants in the country, approximately 480,000 of whom are refugees and asylum seekers registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency. Many of these migrants have started their own businesses, while others work as street vendors or house cleaners in the large informal economy.
For decades, Egypt has been a haven for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to escape war and poverty. Egypt is both a destination and a refuge for some as it is the closest and most accessible country to them. For some, it is a stopover before attempting the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe.
Although Egypt’s coast is not a major jumping-off point for traffickers to send ships full of people across the Mediterranean to Europe, Egypt faces migration pressure from the region and the Israeli-Hamas war has spilled over its borders. There is also the looming threat of the possibility of
The deal provides much-needed funding to Egypt’s economy, which has been hit hard by years of government austerity, the coronavirus pandemic, the fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and, more recently, the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza. will be injected. .
Earlier this month, after marathon negotiations, Egypt reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to increase its bailout loan from $3 billion to $8 billion. The agreement with the IMF was combined with economic reforms, including a buoyant Egyptian pound and a significant hike in key interest rates.
The EU deal follows the template of recent agreements signed with Tunisia and Mauritania, which pledge funds in return for strengthening their borders. Tunisia and Mauritania, important jumping off points for migrants crossing the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean to Italy and Spain respectively, have also been criticized for alleged mistreatment of migrants.
The package drew criticism from international human rights groups over Egypt’s human rights record. Amnesty International called on European leaders not to be complicit in human rights abuses occurring in Egypt.
“EU leaders must ensure that Egyptian authorities adopt clear standards on human rights,” said Yves Guedi, director of European institutions at Amnesty International. He pointed to restrictions and repression of civil society.
Asked in Brussels earlier this week about the morality of such an agreement, European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer acknowledged that there were problems with all these countries, but nevertheless defended the partnership.
“Yes, we know that there are criticisms related to human rights in those countries and it is clear that this is an issue,” he told reporters.
“Does that mean we should sever all ties? Will that lead to an improvement in the situation? Or should we cut ties with those countries in order to improve conditions on the ground, both for local people and for migrants coming to those countries? Should we find a way to work with them?” he said.
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Associated Press reporters Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
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