Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty asserted Egypt’s firm position on categorically rejecting any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land.
Abdelatty’s remarks were made during a meeting with Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope Monday at the start of his visit to Geneva.
The foreign minister emphasized that no organization can replace or substitute UNRWA’s capacity and mandate to serve Palestinian refugees and civilians in urgent need of life-saving humanitarian assistance.
He said Egypt appreciates the fruitful and extended cooperation with the IOM to ensure comprehensive migration management and enhance sustainable development in accordance with the principles and goals outlined in the Global Compact for Migration.
While addressing the migration file, the Egyptian stand calls for taking into consideration not only security aspects but also the developmental dimensions linked to it and tackles the root causes of irregular migration, he said.
He, meanwhile, voiced Egypt’s deep concern over the deteriorating political and humanitarian conditions in neighboring countries, referring to disputes, political crises and the bad impacts of climate change, which, he said, have been leading to an increase in displacement and migration waves.
Egypt is currently hosting more than nine million migrants and refugees, according to him.
Abdelatty tackled never-ceasing efforts by all national bodies to host refugees and meet their needs. That is causing more burdens on the state’s budget, especially that the international support Egypt is receiving is very modest, he stressed.
He reiterated Egypt’s stance on the need of intensifying international efforts to ensure the just and sustainable implementation of the principle of equal sharing of burden and responsibility towards refugees.
He urged the IOM to provide the necessary support for helping Egypt endure the burdens of hosting this growing number of migrants and refugees.
Abdelatty also outlined tireless efforts by the Egyptian authorities to combat illegal migration and human smuggling in line with Egypt’s National Strategy for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration.
