The Egyptian Ministry of Interior: Good News to the Sudanese
Cairo – AlMohagig
The Egyptian Interior Ministry has promised to facilitate residency procedures for Sudanese in the coming days and a joint committee with Sudan will be formed to address migration issues.
This came during a meeting between the Sudanese Interior Minister, Police Major General Khalil Basha Sayrein, and his Egyptian counterpart, Major General Mahmoud Tawfiq Abdel Gawad, in Cairo, according to a statement from the Sudanese Interior Ministry.
The statement mentioned that the meeting discussed the concerns and problems of Sudanese in the Arab Republic of Egypt and efforts to address them with the Egyptian authorities.
Major General Sayrein thanked the Egyptian government for its facilitation of hosting large numbers of Sudanese who arrived in Egypt due to the war, adding that the current problems faced by Sudanese include significant delays in obtaining entry visas to Egypt.
Since the outbreak of the war in Sudan in mid-April last year, Egyptian cities have hosted hundreds of thousands of Sudanese. The Egyptian consulate in Port Sudan, Red Sea State, has witnessed an unprecedented congestion of visa applicants for several months following the war, leading to delays in obtaining visas.
The border between the two countries has also witnessed active smuggling operations for Sudanese families, with amounts ranging from 200,000 Sudanese pounds to 350,000 Sudanese pounds per person (approximately 150 to 200 dollars).
The Sudanese Interior Minister did not provide statistics on the number of victims of smuggling incidents to Egypt, but social media sites have reported several traffic accidents resulting in the loss of dozens of Sudanese lives.
The Sudanese Interior Minister called for exceptional measures for the elderly, children, and women to obtain entry visas to Egypt, urging the opening of a consulate for the Sudanese community given its size among other communities and an extension of the residence period.
On the same note, the acting Egyptian Interior Minister emphasized the need to open Egyptian police training institutions to the Sudanese police after the rebellion destroyed and sabotaged training facilities.
For his part, the Egyptian Interior Minister expressed his happiness with the visit and wished it had been longer to include all the topics of interest to the two ministries.
Regarding residency procedures, the Egyptian Interior Minister – according to the Sudanese side’s statement – stated that the coming days would witness the simplification and acceleration of procedures, urging Sudanese to complete the procedures at passport offices located in the capital and provinces. He also confirmed that instructions would be issued to make Sudanese happy, without giving details.
Regarding entry visas, the Egyptian Interior Minister explained that the slow procedures were due to the necessary examination procedures to meet visa requirements and promised to facilitate procedures to ensure that the largest number of Sudanese obtain visas in a short time.
Regarding training, the Egyptian Interior Minister stated that they are ready to receive students from the Police College, Police Academy, and all specialized training courses whenever Sudan requests it, and expressed readiness to increase scholarships for the Sudanese police.
The Egyptian Interior Minister directed the formation of a mechanism that includes specialists from the Egyptian Interior Ministry, the Sudanese Embassy, and the Sudanese Interior Ministry to coordinate on visa and residency procedures.
