Ahmet Gencturk
02 June 2026•Update: 02 June 2026
Greece is starting to implement a labor import deal with Egypt, signed in November 2022, amid a worsening demographic crisis, local media reported on Tuesday.
Highlighting the labor shortages in rural Greece, which have intensified year after year, the state-run AMNA news agency announced that the deal is finally moving toward implementation.
The agreement between Greece and Egypt provides for the recruitment of up to 5,000 seasonal agricultural workers, who will be able to work legally in farming and agricultural activities across various regions of the country.
Speaking to the agency, Christos Giannakakis, a member of the board of directors of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, confirmed that the process is now underway, adding that nearly 150 candidate workers have already been submitted to Greece’s regional authorities.
The initial number of 5,000 could be increased if labor demand requires it, he said.
Giannakakis also said that more than 36 employers have already expressed interest in participating in the program.
Greece, owing to its aging population and massive emigration to Western countries during the decade of economic crisis from 2009 to 2019, suffers from a labor shortage that has hit the tourism and agriculture sectors, two main pillars of the country’s economy. As such, the country increasingly relies on migrant labor.
In February 2022, Greece and Bangladesh signed an agreement to hire 4,000 Bangladeshi workers in Greece annually through regular channels.
In December 2023, the Greek Parliament approved a new law that will grant some 30,000 undocumented migrants the right to a three-year residency permit and work in Greece.
