Egypt released its first mobile application for Egyptians living abroad to improve communication with its expatriates and offer faster services, the emigration ministry said.

Kalem Masr, or Call Egypt, is available in Arabic and English. It allows users to contact the emigration ministry and submit feedback, and it pinpoints the location of the Egyptian embassy in each country.

The move came in response to requests by Egyptian expatriates to provide an application encompassing all services available to them, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The app promises an "easy, quick and safe" experience to users, it added.

Egyptians living abroad are estimated at 13 million, according to Egypt's Emigration Minister Nabila Makram. Some 65 percent of Egyptian expats live in Arab countries, according to figures released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) in 2017.

The application offers a range of services to users including guides for expat housing, digital services offered by the ministry, civil services and military recruitment. It also provides a map of investments in Egypt's industrial sector, access to dollar-based national investment certificates, and an electronic fatwa (religious edict) centre by Al-Azhar, Egypt's top Islamic authority.

It also features a FAQ section, Contact Us feature, an "Ask and Suggest" initiative, as well as a section to receive complaints. It sends users notifications of tips, such as banned medicines in some countries.

A special team offers technical support to the app users on working days.

The application also features the emigration ministry's monthly magazine in Arabic and English as well as news articles from local and regional media outlets.

The application is currently available for Android users on Google Play and will soon be available for iOS users on App Store.

"Kalem Masr" Application

"Kalem Masr" Application