The assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Aly Al-Asheery left to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday in order to participate in a second round of dialogue as part of the joint United Arab Emirates-Egypt consular commission. State-run news agency MENA reported that the Egyptian delegation will be holding talks with representatives of the ministries of interior, labour, immigration, education and health. The commission was first held in January 2011 and is meant to be a line of communication between both governments to discuss topics of interest surrounding Egyptian and UAE expatriates, including visas, residency permits, sponsorship and deportation. The Egyptian delegation is expected to request the UAE inform the Egyptian embassy in Abu Dhabi of the arrest of any Egyptian citizen in accordance with international conventions. Al-Asheery said: “We will be discussing the issue of Egyptians currently detained pending investigations. “In addition we demand the presence of a representative of the embassy in investigations and to enable the prisoners to communicate with their loved ones and their families in order to reassure them." The delegation will discuss cooperation between both nations in the field of manpower, where Egypt is proposing improved communication between the respective ministries to facilitate the process of contracting foreign workers. Cooperation in the field of education is also on the agenda. The delegation aims to discuss cooperation between universities and other higher education institutions, which would include grants for Egyptian and UAE students. In the field of health the delegation will discuss establishing research projects and a memorandum of understanding between the respective health ministries. Al-Asheery stressed that the meetings represent an eagerness on the part of the UAE to strengthen relations between. Relations between both nations took a dive recently, after the UAE arrested 11 Egyptians suspected of being part of a Muslim brotherhood cell. The government has attempted to extradite the 11, which sparked UAE officials to question why the alleged Brotherhood members were of greater concern to the Egyptian government than the 350 other Egyptians currently detained in the UAE.
