Fahmy:Visegrad (V4) discloses Egypt’s vital role in region

Dr. Mohamed Fahmy, Professor of Political Economy, said that at the moment Egypt is really maintaining very strict security over its own borders

Dr. Mohamed Fahmy, Professor of Political Economy, said that at the moment Egypt is really maintaining very strict security over its own borders not only from the northern side but also from the eastern and southern sides and across the borders with Israel. He stressed the importance of Egypt’s participation in the Visegrad Group (V4) summit with countries in central Europe who are also members of the EU and of NATO to highlight the safety of the European countries by controlling these gates’ entries at a very high level of security.

In a phone call with (Arica Today), Fahmy elaborated that Egypt is able to protect its borders by reducing or limiting immigration and the foremost is by eradicating illegal immigration stemming from its soil. Statistically speaking there is a reduction in the amount of immigrants that used to emanate from Egypt through the sea, a lot of these pockets have now ended, he said, due to their very close and stringent maritime control over the northern coast.

The V4 noted that Egypt has not reported a single case of illegal migration since 2016.

The Mediterranean basin throughout the past decade even from before has been witnessing a lot of problems; terrorism, insecurity coming from the southern parts of the Mediterranean and from North Africa, he said, stressing that this has been a major problem for Europe and the rest of the world. He believed that we have a prosperous model and it is important for Egypt to promote that and cooperate in the region to replicate the Egyptian experience and its successful work in dealing with such a threat.

Dr. Fahmy stated that Egypt is a country of 100 million people and 6 million refugees from different parts of the world, referring that the country while being very hospitable and accommodating to these refugees who are treated almost like citizens, it will not accept being a transit point or an entry point for them to move to other places. Thus, he added, it is quite soothing and comforting to the European countries to hear such firm statements coming from Egypt, stressing that they are not only statements but actions backed up by data.

As for the weight of the V4 inside the European Union and internationally, the international relations expert said that these countries while being part of the EU, they have witnessed being socialist and state-led development countries for a very long time and they are still on their way to move towards liberalization, towards a capitalist and private based economy. They share the same experiences with the Egyptian case which was for a very long time a socialist state and exposed to the state-led development model, he said, assuming that there are a lot of common experiences and shared lessons that can be learned from both sides.

Dr. Mohamed Fahmy believed that such shared experiences with Egypt can serve as a great entry point into the EU. They can also provide support to Egypt on the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), he said, adding there are a lot of rooms to be exploited in terms of trade and economic ties with such counties pointing to Egypt’s central position and easy access to all parts of Europe.

President Abdel Fattah e-Sisi arrived in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, to participate in the Egypt-Visegrad Group (V4) Summit, which included Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.

Africa Today is aired weekly on Nile TV International and this episode is conducted by Nevine Ramzy.