JEDDAH — Egyptian Consul General Adel El-Alfy, who arrived in Jeddah early in September, said he was keen to communicate with the Egyptian community from his first working day. On his first day he made sure to reply to an Egyptian who sent him a message asking him to open communication channels with the community and work to help Egyptians in Jeddah and surrounding areas. In his first interview with a Saudi newspaper, El-Alfy said his main worry right now was for Egyptian pilgrims on Haj. El-Alfy said a good number of Egyptian pilgrims have arrived already in Makkah and Madinah. The first group of Egyptian pilgrims arrived at Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah on Oct. 4. In its attempts to provide top services to pilgrims, the Egyptian consulate has established a round-the-clock operations room with three dedicated phone numbers to communicate with all Egyptian Haj commissions and pilgrims. El-Alfy and his aides have made field visits to meet pilgrims at Madinah and Jeddah airports and reviewed the quality of hotels where they stayed. The consulate has also employed additional staff from Egypt to support the existing consulate officials during the Haj season. Dr. Hesham Sheeha, medical consultant at the Egyptian Embassy in Riyadh, heads the country's Haj medical mission this year. In addition, a special clinic has been set up at King Abdulaziz Airport to provide medical aid to arriving Egyptian pilgrims. Approximately 80,000 Egyptians are coming for Haj this year. Of these, 33,000 are being facilitated by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, 14,000 by the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Justice and 33,000 by travel agencies. El-Alfy praised the efforts of the Saudi authorities to shorten the time pilgrims spend to complete customs' procedures and ensure that they reach the holy cities comfortably. With regard to facilitating communication between the consulate and the Egyptian community, El-Alfy explained members could visit in person or write to them. In addition, consulate delegations make regular visits to far-off areas within their jurisdiction to resolve community issues. There are also assigned volunteers from the Egyptian community who communicate on a daily basis with the consulate about issues Egyptian expatriates may face in their locality. The consul general also heads some missions to meet and connect with the Egyptian community in areas away from the consulate and to meet princes of the regions to discuss issues concerning local Egyptians there. Consulate delegations also visit Egyptians in prisons whether they are being investigated or convicted of a crime. At present, the consul general with the help of other consuls is working to form a dedicated media, information and follow-up department with a main target to communicate with the Egyptian community via social media and other possible means. These channels will work as a hub to announce consulate events and delegation visits, interact with Egyptians, receive their complaints, suggestions and queries and advise them on solutions. Furthermore, according to El-Alfy, the consulate is working to find solutions for low-income Egyptians who lose their jobs and have no financial resources, medical insurance or lawyer to help them until they can go back home. To El-Alfy, legal issues are of priority when serving the Egyptian community. At the moment, the consulate is working in two directions: to assign more legal advisers with extensive experience in Saudi law and to work with a law office that can provide legal advice and consultations to Egyptians who need legal aid. He added: “All these issues will be resolved once the Welfare of Egyptians Abroad law is passed by the Parliament. This law will give Egyptians abroad a wide range of benefits.” Concerning the case of Ahmad Al-Jizawi, who is standing trial for allegedly smuggling into the Kingdom a large quantity of narcotic pills, El-Alfy confirmed his predecessor Ali El-Ashiry ensured the consulate's legal representative visited him, made sure he received good treatment as per the Saudi penal code and attended interrogation sessions. Also, the legal adviser has attended hearings at the General Court in Jeddah. Whether it is the Al-Jizawi case or other similar cases involving Egyptians, the consulate provides legal consultation and medical care if they need it, El Alfy added. He added: “Here, I have to affirm that the Saudi authorities provide all the support and aid with regard to taking care of Egyptians in such situations.” According to figures released in May, the number of Egyptians in the Kingdom under investigation is roughly 400, with about 70 imprisoned. The consulate succeeded in helping deport around 1,000 Egyptians in September. They were either Umrah and Haj overstayers or those who overstayed their business or work visas. Regarding tourism and the Egyptian government's strategy to attract Saudi tourists, El-Alfy confirmed his government was exerting great efforts to attract Saudi tourists in particular and Arab and foreign tourists in general. He said Egyptians consider Saudi tourists to be neighbors due to the strong and long historical relations and marriage ties connecting them. Saudis account for the largest number of Arab tourists who visit Egypt, he added. El-Alfy said: “The tourism departments are working on rejuvenating the country's tourism revenue and bringing tourists' influx back to normal and beyond. I can confirm that tourists will feel perfectly safe and Egypt is stable again. There are many facilities the government has provided for tourists, Saudi tourists especially.” Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi urged diplomatic missions to take special care of Egyptian expatriates and to make sure they understand how their country appreciates and cares for them, the consul general said. El-Alfy said: “He also stressed the importance of foreign investors in Egypt, especially of Saudis who are the largest investors.” However, Morsi has encouraged Egyptians to invest in their home country. El-Alfy also spoke with Saudi businessmen concerning their investments in Egypt and told them Morsi was keen to protect them and attract more investors to his country. He told them Egypt had enacted policies to encourage more investment in the country given its newfound stability in the dawn of democracy. El Alfy revealed plans to meet with Saudi businessmen after the Haj season to discuss their concerns and then feed back to the Egyptian authorities. With regard to education, El-Alfy said Egyptian students abroad have the right to study at Egyptian universities. He also confirmed the issue has many angles and must be discussed on a wider scale for the benefit of all Egyptian students abroad. El-Alfy has more than 23 years of diplomatic experience and comes with a vision to improve the services provided to the Egyptian community in Jeddah and other regions served by the consulate.
