The interview was conducted by Islam Lutfi:
Photography – Nader Nabil:
The Minister of Immigration, Ambassador Soha Gendy, said that she has developed a new mechanism to deal with Egyptians abroad, as well as with the ministers and officials concerned with this matter in other countries, confirming her direct communication with Egyptians abroad 24 hours a day, to solve their problems and implement their requests immediately.

She added in an interview with “Masrawy”, the first part of which was published during the past few days, that Egyptian celebrities, doctors, investors and actors abroad always seek to serve Egypt and do not delay in doing so, revealing how Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian player for the English club Liverpool, dealt with Egypt.

It touched on how to solve the crisis of unrecognized foreign education inside Egypt, which some Egyptian students studying abroad face. And to the text of the dialogue..

Rapid intervention by the Minister of Immigration to solve the problems of Egyptians abroad

• Egyptians abroad notice the Minister of Immigration’s rapid intervention and action when they encounter any problem. To what extent does this affect countries’ dealings with Egyptians abroad, especially since in previous times they faced many problems and were sometimes ignored?

– There has become a difference in dealing with matters, and we in the Ministry of Immigration were keen during our first foreign visits to countries such as Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, to establish direct mechanisms for communicating with our counterparts in the ministries, whether human resources or community development or those concerned with Egyptians in their countries, to emphasize the importance of solving the problems of Egyptians. directly.

We also did that when we visited Cyprus, where I met with the Ministers of Interior and Labor and all the ministers concerned with the work of Egyptians there. There were talks with these ministries about legalizing the conditions of Egyptians in Cyprus, because some of them are there illegally, and we are trying to make their presence legal.

There are now many officials and ministers who come specifically by plane to meet me and my colleagues in the ministry, for many reasons, including confirming that they are happy with the presence of Egyptians in their societies, that they are one of the most integrated communities, and that they are happy to cooperate with us in order to fill any type of gap in their labor market, as They can fill it with Egyptians who want to travel to them…and this is true for many countries, including Germany, the European Union, and the Netherlands, and this was the basic idea of ​​the Egyptian Immigration Center.

There are many countries seeking us to learn about our experience and see how they can benefit from it. Australia also sought us in this regard, Mozambique and Sri Lanka, and we had many ambassadors who were keen to visit us and learn about the Egyptian experience.

I believe that this is an advantage that, within the past year and 5 months, we have been able to establish trust between us and the communities, because they have come to trust that when the Ministry of Immigration says anything it does and not just talk for propaganda and media, we implement what we say.

This is in addition to our presence in all groups on WhatsApp and social networking sites, direct communication and communication, receiving problems and calls for help and dealing with them immediately, and we get a response to them and we do not receive the problem without implementation.

We communicate with various institutions, and sometimes the response is instantaneous, after just a few minutes, and at first, “They didn’t believe it.. and they say, ‘Are you the minister seriously, and aren’t you laughing at us?’” And I try as much as possible to realize the idea that we are a family, and when someone needs something, we must be there for them.

What makes me happy now is the way we interact and the love we share, which appears through communication through groups.
We do not seek to serve them alone, but the Egyptians themselves have begun to seek to help each other, and I noticed that each of the initiatives has many groups, on every means of social media for Egyptians, and everyone seeks to help others.

Connecting the second and third generations of Egyptians abroad to Egypt

• The task of connecting the second and third generation of Egyptian children abroad to Egypt. Do you face difficulty in this, especially since some of them have never visited Egypt before?

– There is nothing difficult, and the desire for this is shared between us and our children of the second, third and fourth generation because they want to learn about their origins, and the children of Egyptians abroad are searching for their origins and are ready and happy for that, but they want someone to take their hands and introduce them.

These children, upon their first arrival from the plane, feel their country and that this is their home, and they see everything beautiful, and the feeling of this is reflected in everything.

We also organize trips for them to the Suez Canal and its economic zone, and sometimes they visit the Civil Defense and museums and listen to lectures with distinguished professors such as Dr. Wassim El-Sisi, Egyptologist, and Dr. Maysara Abdullah, Egyptologist, Executive Vice President of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization for Archaeological Affairs, and other experts concerned with Egyptian roots.

We try as much as possible not to focus only on our second, third and fourth generation children abroad, but we also try to connect them with our children in international schools in Egypt, because sometimes parents do not focus on their children being aware of all the good elements in their societies that make them unique.

We are always keen to organize camps and trips, and this is the second phase of the “I Speak Arabic” initiative, which is the presidential initiative that we are honored to implement, and which focuses on the Egyptian roots, and the first phase of which focused on the Arabic language.

We have not forgotten the first stage, and we are trying to develop the “I Speak Arabic” application and its page, and the camps and trips that we organize, so that we know our children, whether abroad, from the second, third, or fourth generation, or in international schools, about what the Arabic language means and the need to speak it, because the Arabic language Rich.

And the feeling of uniqueness and the great and unique civilization, especially since it was the one that built the world, and the world came after it and it is the one that built history and history came after it. The feeling of uniqueness and that we have a civilization that is the highest and greatest, makes the children, whether they are in Egypt or outside it, feel their greatness and that they are unique and belong. To their country as well.

The crisis of unrecognized foreign education inside Egypt

• Some Egyptian students studying abroad face the problem of foreign education that is not recognized inside Egypt. How can this problem be solved?

The easiest solution is for them not to study in unrecognized schools and universities. However, we cannot force anyone to study in a specific place, and the matter of studying is completely left to our children, their choice, and the choice of their parents.

The problem is that when something like this happens, we communicate with the Ministries of Higher Education and Education and try as much as possible to see the possibility of recognizing these certificates, and if there is no possibility, because the study they studied is very much less than the requirements in Egypt, and until the student enrolls in the Egyptian system, There should be a “clearing house” or studying curricula that they have not studied or taking exams in some matters, so that they have a recognized certificate that they can enroll in different universities.

We are working with the two ministries to ensure that schools and universities are widely recognized, but they must have the basics.

I hope that before parents seek to enroll in schools or universities outside Egypt, they make sure of its background and whether it is recognized or not and search for its graduates where they worked, so that new students do not lose their money and the future of their children, because they study things that are not the best and not appropriate for their future.

We try as much as possible to be the link between our children and the relevant ministries, even if there is any type of assistance, to provide it. We have distinguished cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education through the permanent committee to look into the situations of our children who are in countries suffering from conflicts, and who We are trying to integrate them into the Egyptian education system.

We have a distinguished relationship with the Ministry of Education, through which we responded to many requests from Egyptians abroad, because they asked to divide the semester for our children abroad, and the Minister of Education responded and demanded more Egyptian schools that are located abroad, which they call “Egyptian Track Schools.” “, which we started with a distinguished school in Italy called “Naguib Mahfouz,” which was very successful and was the first building block and began to spread around the world.. As much as possible, we try to fulfill all the requests of Egyptians abroad.

How to benefit from famous and successful Egyptians abroad

• There are Egyptian celebrities, successful Egyptian minds, and many creative people outside Egypt. How can we benefit from them?

– Egyptians are always ready to serve their country and support it in anything it needs, and we see this in what many distinguished doctors do who are everywhere around the world, and we have the best doctors in the world, as evidenced by the fact that all countries of the world seek Egyptian doctors to work abroad, There are “brokerage” offices located on Egyptian territory, in order to convince Egyptians to work in their country.

These doctors always seek from the Ministry of Immigration, when they are present on Egyptian territory, whether on a trip, conference, or vacation, to give of their knowledge and professional experience, in performing operations and treating Egyptians, and to implement everything that the Egyptians ask for.

They are ready to go to the poorest villages and hamlets, so that they can be with Egyptians who need them, and the same thing happens with celebrities.

Mohamed Salah is a wonderful personality, and we do not ask him for anything and are in need of him, and this is met with rejection. The same is true with Egyptian actors abroad, such as Rami Malek, Mena Massoud, or others.

There are also scholars and economic experts at the highest levels, and they do not hesitate to provide anything that Egypt needs. There are ministers and representatives in foreign parliaments and generals in the arms and armies of other countries, and their origins are Egyptian, so we have an impressive diversity of Egyptians abroad.

When I was in France during a meeting with the Egyptian community, I found a policeman at the highest levels and ranks in the French police, but his feeling of his Egyptianness is very strong, and just because he works in work related to the national security of another country does not mean that he loses feeling, love, and communication with his country, which has a debt in its neck. This happens with Egyptians in all countries.

There are also investors. In all tours, I seek to meet with major Egyptian investors in the country I am going to. When I was in California, I held this meeting and was surprised by the presence of a large number of important investors at the world level in the field of mining, tourism, and energy, who seek to come to Egypt when we call for… Their investment in Egyptian markets.
This is a hidden relationship between the Egyptian and his country and he does not forget it. There is always a connection towards the mother country, and they are ready to help it with anything.

The Minister of Immigration continues communication with Egyptians abroad

• Some describe Ambassador Soha Gendi as a “dynamo” because of her continuous efforts. How many hours does Minister Soha Gendi work during the day?

– I work many hours, and not alone, but with my colleagues in the Ministry of Immigration, and I do not stop working when I go home, and this is what prompts some to say that I am “awake 24 hours a day,” and I am always with Egyptians in any type of means of communication, and it is not permissible If someone calls us for help and I say to him, “I was sleeping.”

I carry people’s concerns, I see their love, and I feel that I bear the responsibility of communicating, and I have love and debt for the Egyptians, and I always want to be there with them in case they need something, and this always makes me eager to be with them all the time.

I wake up early at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning, and I start interacting across all the groups directly, and I love the happiness they feel when I communicate with them, talk to them, and come up with solutions.

They have many distinguished proposals that are of benefit to them and to others, because we at the Ministry of Immigration are studying all the proposals that lead to more successes regarding the file of Egyptians abroad.

The basis of the proposal is always and forever from Egyptians abroad, and we do not force them to do anything, such as the “Cars for Egyptians Abroad” initiative, which has been a goal and hope for them for 20 years. They are offered cars at discounts, and we worked on that and tried as much as possible to offer something that everyone would be happy with.

The same is true with all the ministries, institutions, and incentives that we provide, the basis of which was a request from Egyptians abroad and we sought to implement them.

I am with the Egyptians abroad 24 hours a day, and I work a lot, but I do not feel that it is work, because I love it and do not feel that I am forced to do it, and I have the ability to do so, and there are also colleagues with me in the Ministry of Immigration who have the same desire and the feeling that “the Egyptians can lean on them.” .

You can read the first part of the dialogue here