Lebanon signs deal with Egypt
Lebanon-Egypt, Economics, 8/8/1997

During a joint news conference at the Labor Ministry in Mashfrafiah, minister Assad Hardan and his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Ammawi disclosed the content of the memorandum of understanding that will be signed on August 8 by the two countries' higher joint committee.

The Lebanese government will give illegal Egyptian workers three months to leave the country and apply to the labor ministry for a work permit which will allow them to return on a legal basis.

During the three-month period, all illegal Egyptian workers should apply to general security to leave the country, while at the same time Lebanese employers who have hired illegal workers should ask the labor ministry for approval to rehire them.

Ammawi said that workers who do not apply for a departure request within the three-month period, set to begin with the signing of the agreement, will be prosecuted and banned from reentering the country.

An awareness campaign will be organized in both countries to warn Egyptian workers about the dangers of illegal entry to Lebanon, including prosecution or other measures that they might face.

Hardan stated that the estimates of illegal Egyptian workers range from 3,000 to 5,000 and most of the them have entered Lebanon via Syria and have paid 300 US dollars for being smuggled across the border.

The agreement also included the formation of a joint working committee, headed by both ministers and three members from each side as well as the ambassadors of both countries, to monitor the implementation of the understanding. The committee will meet in Cairo next year.

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