Starting this summer, Greece plans to recruit agricultural workers from Egypt.

Here are the key points:

• Approximately 5,000 seasonal laborers from Egypt will have the opportunity to work temporarily in Greece, commencing this summer.
• Greece has been provided with a list by the Egyptian government, comprising the initial 2,400 Egyptian citizens who will engage in work within Greece.
• Discussions between Greece and Egypt have also involved enhancing collaboration to address irregular migration along the Central Mediterranean route.

The recruitment of seasonal agricultural workers from Egypt will begin in Greece this summer.

The Greek Ministry of Migration has affirmed the decision, which follows an agreement between Greece and Egypt in 2022 to address labor shortages across various sectors. 

In a statement, the Greek Migration Ministry disclosed that discussions between the two nations have also explored extending the initiative to the tourism and construction industries in Greece, marking it as a "mutually beneficial" endeavor.

Recently, Greece's Minister for Migration and Asylum, Dimitris Kairidis, received the inaugural roster of 2,400 Egyptian nationals sanctioned by the Egyptian government for employment in Greece.

The deployment of Egyptian workers to Greece will be gradual, spanning until the year's end, primarily to address labor deficiencies in the agricultural domain. The accord, ratified in November 2023, encompasses 5,000 laborers, with provisions to increase this figure to meet workforce demands in other sectors.

To streamline the process of issuing residence permits, Minister Kairidis proposed new legislation earlier this year. These changes aim to regularize the status of approximately 30,000 irregular migrants, requiring evidence of three years of residency and employment in Greece for eligibility.

With the enactment of the new Migration Code (Law 5 038/2022, G.G. A ’81) in March 2023, effective January 1, 2024, Greece aims to rectify deficiencies identified in previous years.

During Minister Kairidis's visit to Egypt, discussions revolved around the issue of irregular migration, underscoring the necessity for enhanced collaboration to curb migration flows along the Central Mediterranean route. Efforts were also directed towards repatriating denied asylum seekers from Egypt to their countries of origin.

Minister Kairidis emphasized the current peak in Greek-Egyptian relations, marking it as the strongest in their history.

Data from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, indicates that the Central Mediterranean route was one of the most active migratory pathways in 2023, with a recorded 158,000 attempts at irregular border crossings, marking a 50% increase from 2022 figures.