Egypt’s Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Minister Nabila Makram has called on Egyptians abroad to participate in rehabilitating the poorest villages in Egypt under the presidential Decent Life initiative.

The minister praised US-based New Egypt Group, which was established by several Egyptians abroad to contribute to providing technical and financial support for achieving sustainable development in Egypt.

Makram said the government will be intensifying its efforts to raise awareness among the youth living in the poorest villages about the dangers of illegal migration, which involves the allocation of EGP 250 million from the 2020/21 budget to combat the phenomenon in 70 villages nationwide.

The announcements are part of the National Project for the Development of Egyptian Villages, which is part of the larger Decent Life initiative.

The initiative, launched by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in early 2019, aims to provide better living conditions for the neediest rural villages in Egypt.

In December, El-Sisi launched the second stage of the Decent Life Initiative to provide better living conditions for the neediest villages in Egypt.

The president has said that the second stage of the initiative, launched in December, targets a total of 1,500 villages inhabited by 18 million citizens.

Earlier this week, Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Kabbaj said that the initiative is within the framework of plans to develop all Egyptian villages within three years in order to improve standards of living, infrastructure, and basic services.

Egypt's Housing Minister Assem El-Gazzar during a meeting with ministry officials on Wednesday (Photo courtesy of Housing Ministry)

Sanitation for rural areas

Meanwhile, during a meeting with officials on Wednesday, Housing Minister Assem El-Gazzar followed up on preparations to provide sanitation services to rural villages under the initiative.

El-Gazzar discussed non-traditional methods that would be implemented to deliver sanitation services, and called on officials to provide a count of the sewage treatment plants and equipment needed to execute the projects.