The Government of Egypt, Germany and the European Union have launch the programme “Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Migration Governance and Labour Mobility in North Africa” (THAMM) in coordination with the implementing agencies International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and GIZ in Egypt.
THAMM draws on a holistic approach to labour migration governance and mobility. Planned to run for a period of 36 months, the programme covers three countries: Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, and will be open to other North African countries for sub-regional activities. It addresses labour migration and mobility through regional dialogue and cooperation; it also pilots a mobility scheme between North African countries and selected countries in Europe.
A recent two-day “National Programming Workshop” was held in Cairo to kick-start the implementation of the programme in Egypt.
The workshop’s main objective was to hold in-depth technical consultations with the national partners and relevant stakeholders to validate the work plans for THAMM in Egypt. Workshop participants included representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Emigration and Egyptian Expatriate Affairs; Manpower; International Cooperation; Trade and Industry; Education and Technical Education; Higher Education; and Social Solidarity; along with representatives from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, in addition to the Federation of Egyptian Industries, the Egyptian Democratic Labour Congress and Egyptian Trade Union Federation.
Ambassador Amr El Sherbini, Deputy Assistant to Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for Refugees, Migration and Combatting Human Trafficking, highlighted the importance of building upon a positive narrative to migration and of developing legal migration routes. “In addition to fostering cooperation among the North African countries, including Egypt, and the European Union in the field of labour migration and mobility, the THAMM programme contributes to the implementation of the objectives of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides a win-win opportunity for both sending and receiving countries of migrants to address irregular migration across the Mediterranean through creating legal pathways for labour mobility.”
“The EU remains committed to support Egypt on tackling migration challenges,” Head of Cooperation of European Union Delegation to Egypt, Mr Ibrahim Laafia, said. “The positive socio-economic impact of employment projects will be significant for both host communities and migrants. Through the THAMM programme, we aim to strengthen legal migration governance and foster mutually beneficial mobility.”
For his part, Mr Uwe Gehlen, Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Cairo said: “The German Government is thankful for the dialogue on migration with the Government of Egypt. Facing the emerging challenges of irregular migration, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, it becomes all the more pressing and relevant to be able, through THAMM, to facilitate migration positively. We are keen to support the Egyptian Government in its efforts to regulate and govern mobility routes to Europe. THAMM enhances the capacity to manage safe labour migration and mobility between Egypt and Germany according to labour market and development needs. It offers a pathway for skilled workers and apprentices to migrate to Germany, creating a triple-win situation for Egypt, Germany and the migrants.”
THAMM is in line with several jointly funded programmes by the “Emergency Trust Fund for Stability and Addressing the Root Causes of Irregular Migration and Displaced Persons” in Africa (EUTF) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Watani International
26 October 2020
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