Egyptian Expatriates’ Engagement: Analysis of the Role of the State (2015-2023)

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Abstract

The question of expatriate engagement has been gaining momentous importance on the agenda of the Egyptian state since 2014. In an attempt to design a national strategy in engaging with its expatriates, the Egyptian government has been keen on developing certain policies and initiatives, starting with the re-establishment of the Egyptian Ministry of Emigration (Samra, 2018). This has been followed by several initiatives that aimed at providing public services to the expatriates, fostering their investment rates, and consolidating their national identity and sense of belonging (Samra, 2018). Hence, it would be interesting to further analyse the national policies and initiatives for expatriate engagement while addressing the following research question: “In light of A. Gamlen’s typology of diaspora engagement policies, to what extent can the Egyptian emigrants’ engagement policies and initiatives be considered comprehensive?”.

This paper argues that due to the increasing potential value that the expatriates represent to their homeland in terms of financial and human capital, and based on Gamlen’s typology of diaspora engagement policy, the Egyptian public approach to expatriate engagement can be considered comprehensive as it encompasses efforts for institution-building, and symbolic nation-building. It also directs attention to political integration, and social services while attempting to enhance the remittances’ rates and expatriates’ knowledge transfers through offering different sets of incentives.

To address the research question and prove the argument, the paper is divided into six sections which include a thorough conceptual framework, an analysis of the value that the Egyptian emigrants represent to their homeland, and an examination of the mounting political will and interest in engaging the Egyptian expatriates. Based on this political will, the paper analyses the policies of capacity-building, and the initiatives that aim at extending rights and extracting obligations in terms of remittances, investments, and knowledge transfer.

Keywords: Egyptian expatriates, Gamlen’s typology, Institution-building, symbolic nation-building, extension of rights, extraction of obligations, remittances, knowledge transfer.

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