Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty said Nermine Afify, director of the NGOs affairs department, met on Wednesday with representatives of several foreign NGOs whose work permissions were either registered or renewed during the first quarter of 2015 in accordance with the 2002 NGOs law.
According to a statement by the ministry on Sunday, the meeting was attended by several NGOs including Management Sciences for Health (MSH), V-Day, The Microfinance Network of Arab Countries (Sanabel), Enactus organization, COSPE association and others.
According to the statement, Afify expressed the ministry’s interest in removing obstacles that could face work of these NGOs through ongoing cooperation and coordination. She also expressed the government’s appreciation toward interests of the NGOs to operate in Egypt while respecting laws that organize their work through registration.
She added that registration and renewal of permission of more than 16 NGOs since start of 2015 is the best evidence that the government welcomes work of the NGOs that work in several fields like health, women, children, small and medium-sized projects, education and maritime navigation. The government, according to Afify, is considering more requests by other NGOs.
Meanwhile, the NGOs representatives expressed appreciation toward the ministry as well as interest in fulfilling developmental priorities and needs in Egypt while being committed to laws.
Not all NGOs, however, have been welcomed by the Egyptian government. A group of US and German NGOs promoting democracy were raided back in 2011 when the government accused them of spying and inciting chaos in Egypt. Their workers were forced to flee the country and others were subsequently put on trial.
Human rights NGOs that monitor government abuses have also been under pressure, with many groups being forced to leave Egypt after the 2002 law was enforced.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
