The UK launched on Sunday training workshops in Egypt with the aim of bolstering Egyptian prosecutors' ability to prosecute human trafficking, the UK Embassy in Cairo said on Tuesday.

The workshops "will build the capacity of criminal justice authorities in Egypt to effectively prevent, investigate, prosecute and adjudicate cases of migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons."

The programme was launched at a ceremony attended by the deputy head of the UK mission in Egypt Helen Winterton and the prosecutor-general’s director of the International Cooperation and Human Rights Division Kamel Samir.

The UK-funded training programme is in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), represented through the Regional Representative for MENA Cristina Albertin.

“Last year, an estimated 5,000 people died trying to cross the Mediterranean in boats. The UK commends the strong action taken by the Egyptian government to implement new anti-smuggling legislation and prevent departures from the north coast," Winterton said.

Winterton added that the UK will provide Egypt with EGP 75.9 million for a range of projects, including UNODC workshops, to assist the country in implementing its new anti-smuggling strategy and law. 

In February, the UK announced the Preventing and Responding to Illegal/Irregular Migration in Egypt (PRIME) project funded by the UK government, with EGP 33 million allocated to help curb the phenomenon. 

Cairo has increasingly prioritised tackling the migration crisis since a migrant boat sank of the Mediterranean cost in September 2016, killing hundreds. Egypt has since passed a law stiffening punishments against those involved in human trafficking.

Egypt, a hotspot for migrants of different nationalities looking to cross the Mediterranean for Europe, has been aiming to increase cooperation with several European nations to combat human trafficking.