The Prime Minister of Egypt, Mostafa Madbouly, held a meeting on Monday to follow up on the Egyptian state's contributions to care for refugees of various nationalities, whose numbers, according to some international estimates, exceed 9 million individuals. The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Supply and Internal Trade, Health and Population, Social Solidarity, Local Development, Education, Technical Education, and Labour, and officials of several ministries and concerned authorities. Madbouly emphasized the importance of auditing these numbers and counting and compiling what the state spends in exchange for the services provided in various sectors to Egypt's guests, who receive them just like Egyptians. He stressed the necessity of documenting the state's various efforts to care for these millions. The Minister of Education and Technical Education presented a report on the number of refugee students and said that those numbers had recently increased, which increased the Egyptian state's contributions to providing educational services to these students. He urged the ministry to expand the establishment of more new classes, to absorb the increase in the number of refugee students. The Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, also indicated that there are about 9 million immigrants and refugees living in Egypt from about 133 countries, with a ratio of 50.4% males and 49.6% females, with an average age of 35 years, representing 8.7% of the size of Egypt's population. He pointed out that 56% of them reside in 5 governorates: Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Dakahlia, and Damietta, and 60% of the immigrants have lived in Egypt for about 10 years, and 6% have been living integrated into Egyptian society for about 15 years or more. He added that 37% of them work in stable jobs and companies. Abdel Ghaffar referred to the International Organization for Migration's August 2023 report, which confirmed that migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Egypt have access to national services in the education and health sectors, on an equal basis with Egyptians. The Minister of Supply discussed what the ministry provides in the supply sector to meet the needs of millions of Egypt's guests, whether for basic goods or other goods. The Minister of Social Solidarity reviewed what NGOs provide to refugees in Egypt, whether in terms of food aid, or health and educational aid. The Minister of Labor presented the numbers of those who obtained work permits officially and said that the number is very small and not proportional to the announced numbers. The Minister of Local Development confirmed that monitoring is being conducted of the concentrations and numbers of refugees in various governorates, the job opportunities in which they work, and the services they enjoy. The Ministry of Interior called on all those present in Egypt to start taking procedures to prove their residency, starting from 1 January 2024. The ministers reviewed the total amount that the state has provided, and is still providing, to the people in the Gaza Strip, within the framework of the Egyptian state's support for the Palestinians.
