Calls for abolishing the kafala (sponsorship) system in the Middle East have been revived again following the memorandum of understanding signed between Egypt and Kuwait on Dec. 5, to regulate the sponsorship of Egyptian workers. The memorandum is paving the way for the elimination of this controversial system under which migrants work.

Under the memorandum — inked on the sidelines of the activities of the joint Egyptian-Kuwaiti committee in Kuwait — Egyptian workers can immigrate through an e-linkage system.

In a Dec. 5 press statement, Sultan al-Shaalani, the director for human resources and financial affairs at Kuwait's Public Authority for Manpower, operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, said that such an electronic system achieves two goals. The first goal is to ensure the recruitment of workers with adequate qualifications and skills, while the second is to combat human trafficking through the existing kafala system as well as eliminating the residency trade.

The memorandum signed with the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower is to be put into effect in 2019, after being approved by the Kuwaiti Cabinet. The exact date of entry into force has yet to be determined.