A bill on illegal immigration was referred to Egypt's Parliament in June and is still awaiting consideration by MPs, having already been reviewed by the Cabinet and the State Council, according to Magdy al-Agaty, the minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs.
Parliament has postponed discussion of the bill due to its busy agenda, Agaty said.
He made the comments during a press conference held Sunday in the wake of last week's boating disaster, in which more than 160 migrants drowned off the coast of Egypt while attempting to travel illegally to Italy.
The minister told journalists that the chairman of parliament's legislative committee has promised to convene an emergency session to discuss the bill and put it up for vote in early October.
Agaty defended the situation of the Egyptian government in relation to the recent disaster off the coast of Beheira, in which a boat called "Mawkeb al-Rasoul" overturned with hundreds of illegal migrants on board. Agaty said that claims of negligence on the part of the government were unfounded and unfair.
He said that Egypt has been suffering from an increase in illegal migration in recent years, with human traffickers taking advantage of Egypt's nearness to Europe.
He said that one-and-a-half years ago the government established a coordinating committee to combat illegal imigration, and it has been preparing legislation to counter illegal migration since 2014.
Last week's disaster was the latest in a string of such incidents involving migrants drowning in the Mediterranean while attempting to cross illegally to Europe. Human traffickers involved in the business often fail to ensure safe transport and are often linked to organized crime and terrorism in the region.
Egyptian military and security forces often announced successes in foiling human trafficking attempts across Egypt's borders, both by land and sea. The migrants are often a mix of Egyptians and citizens of other African and Arab nations.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
