On 16 December, The Egypt-EU Migration Dialogue was formally launched by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, and EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos. An Official meeting was held on 17 December. This dialogue aims to increase cooperation on migration-related issues, such as the fight against smuggling and trafficking to the promotion of legal channels of migration and mobility, the prevention of irregular migration and the protection of asylum seekers and refugees, in a comprehensive and balanced approach. It is expected to contribute to identifying joint EU-Egypt initiatives with the objective of addressing common migration challenges both in the short and longer term. “Today we make an important step ahead in EU-Egypt cooperation for the coming years, which is equally beneficial for our societies as well as for the migrants themselves”, Commissioner Avramopoulos assured.