Tripoli, April 5: The Minister of Labour, Mustafa Rujbani, has said that Libya plans to recruit one million workers from Egypt. . . .[restrict]Speaking in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram published on Wednesday, he said that the workers were needed in the agriculture, building, health care and pharmaceutical sectors. Teachers were also needed at Libya’s universities.
A protocol has been signed with the Egyptian Ministry of Labour to facilitate such procedures, he said, and the 50,000 visas had already been issued to Egyptian workers over the past two moths.
He added that Libya’s current and future strategy would always give priority to Egyptian workers to work in Libya.
Rubjani also said that Libya plans to increase its investment projects in Egypt. These, he said, were currently worth $21 billion and significantly contributed to the development of the Egyptian economy. He also said that Libyan investments abroad are now being reevaluated in their benefit to the country.
The one million recruitment figure equates to the number of Egyptian workers who fled Libya last year. Prior to the revolution there were an estimated 1.5 million Egyptians living and working in Libya. Over two-thirds left. In effect, Libya is allowing them all back.
Just under a fortnight ago, while in Cairo, Rubjani announced that Libya would “give priority” to Egyptian workers wishing to work in the country. He was speaking following talks on the issue with his opposite Egyptian number, Fathy Fekry.
Libya is considered a preferable work destination for Egyptian workers and employees due to it being next door to Egypt and wages that sometimes outweigh those paid to workers in the Gulf states.
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