The PACSOM project that we are officially launching is embedded in the Strategic Partnership between EU and Egypt.  It also operationalises the Migration Dialogue that the EU has with Egypt, in particular the pillar around Security & Border management.  This means that PACSOM project is fully part of a major and comprehensive relation the EU and Egypt are building.

I would like to praise in particular the role of Ambassador Wael Badawi for having facilitated the involvement of all major national stakeholders relevant to the Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Human Beings. Your commitment in bringing from the start all the people around the table, your openness to listen to everyone needs has been crucial.  Thanks to this approach, the project can start on solid grounds, notably because the project is about building trust and in-depth collaboration between stakeholders here and in Europe.  It is about people working together.

PACSOM takes into account the respective mandates and roles of the Ministry of Interior, the Administrative Control Authority, the Public Prosecution Office, the Ministry of Justice, the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons, in addressing the Smuggling of Migrants and the Trafficking in Human Beings, from different but complementary angles.  Given the importance of the Security & Border management of the EU-Egypt migration dialogue, EUR 10 million top-up to the project is already foreseen to further strengthen its impact.