Libyan Labour Minister Mustafa Al-Regbany, currently on an official visit to Egypt, has promised to “give priority” to Egyptian workers wishing to work in the North African nation.
In a press statement released following a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri, Al-Regbany said he had agreed to streamline procedures for Egyptians hoping to obtain work contracts in Libya. He added that Libyan authorities had also agreed to make it easier for Egyptian workers to obtain Libyan visas.
Al-Regbany went on to stress that Libya’s Transitional National Council, which has governed the country since the ouster and death of Libyan strongman Muammar Qadaffi, would work to ensure that Egyptian expatriate workers in Libya enjoy all their rights.
Egyptian Minister of Manpower and Immigration Fathy Fekry, for his part, said that he had agreed with his Libyan counterpart to take all necessary steps to staunch the illegal immigration of Egyptians to Libya.
For decades, Libya had been a preferred destination for Egyptians hoping to find work abroad.
Before the Libyan uprising early last year, some 1.5 million Egyptians – most of them unskilled labourers – had lived and worked in the country. Most of these, however, fled back to Egypt in the wake of the uprising in February 2011.
(Source: Ahram Online)
