Egypt's Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly told the director-general of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) António Vitorino on Tuesday that his country hosts more than 5 million refugees from 58 different countries. The PM made the comments in a meeting with a delegation from the IOM headed by Vitorino, who is currently visiting Cairo. Madbouly stressed that refugees in Egypt receive health and education services as well as employment opportunities without discrimination and live freely among the Egyptian people, not in refugee camps. The officials also discussed means of cooperation on the issue of migration. During the meeting, Madbouly hailed the vital role the IOM is playing in supporting migration issues all around the world. Madbouly congratulated the IOM officials on the newly signed international agreement to forge a stronger and fairer response to large refugee movements known as the Global Compact on Refugees. More than 150 countries signed the agreement during an international conference that took place in Morocco on 10 and 11 December. The countries have developed a roadmap to reach more effective mechanisms to manage migration issues, in addition to creating the required momentum for global cooperation in this area. Madbouly pointed out that Egypt believes in the importance of taking into account the priorities of developing countries, who are hosting 80 percent of migrants, and the importance of focusing on medium and long-term solutions aimed at addressing the root causes of migration. He also stressed the importance of the role that Egypt hopes the IOM will play in urging donors to assist migrants and refugees in Egypt. Vitorino praised Egyptian efforts to develop mechanisms to deal with irregular migration, whether through developing the institutional capacities of the Egyptian state bodies working in this field, or establishing the appropriate legislative frameworks to deal with this phenomenon. The director-general of the IOM expressed the organisations' aspiration to enhance cooperation with Egypt during the upcoming period, which will witness Egypt's presidency of the African Union. Source: Ahram Online
