Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis heads to Egypt as part of a delegation led by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who holds the European Presidency, to strike a deal with the Egyptian government to control migration flows from the country.
According to official reports, the Egyptian government will be offered €7.4 billion in aid to better manage and respond to the increasing migratory pressures on and stemming from the country.
The deal has a long-term perspective, but is clearly connected to concerns about the growing number of migrants created by the war in the Middle East and the ongoing conflicts in African countries near Egypt.
Media reports and the Greek government have noted an uptick in migratory flows to Greece as of late and have observed that they are primarily originating from Egypt and Libya.
Since the 2015 migration crisis, migratory flows have remained a key item on the agenda of the Greek government. But with European Parliament elections coming up quickly and most European political parties concerned about losing further ground to the far right, it is even more important for governments to address the highly inflammatory issue of migration.
According to reports at To Vima, the Prime Minister is also expected to have a private meeting with the Egyptian President Sisi to address different bilateral issues including: electrical interconnectivity between Egypt and Greece, Egypt’s role as a pillar of regional stability in the southeastern Mediterranean, and ways to improve relations between Egypt and Turkey.
