Cooperation with Egypt on combating illegal migration has been very effective: PAM's deputy president

CAIRO – 22 June 2022: Deputy President of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean (PAM) Gennaro Migliore described cooperation with Egypt on combating illegal migration as having been very effective.

The parliamentarian's statements came in an interview with TV host Ahmed Mousa and that was aired Tuesday evening, whereas he added that the phenomenon has to be dealt with on the international scale through full cooperation among different states.

Migliore pointed out that Europe now has to deal with the crisis of the millions of Ukrainian refugees, who fled their country as a consequence of war. He also noted that the world issues have been worsened because of the global food crisis, which puts further strain on the vulnerable.

In that context, PAM's deputy president stressed the salience of acquiring Russian guarantees for wheat to leave Ukrainian territories, as 120,000 tons of the crop exports are stuck, while humans elsewhere across the globe do not find food.

On the occasion of the World Refugee Day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement Monday expressing Egypt's pride in "having been – throughout its long history - a second homeland for anyone who was pushed by the circumstances to leave their motherland in search for a place to live in safely and for a better life."

The statement noted that Egypt hosts six million refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, and that the government offers them all basic services provided to Egyptians. Those include healthcare, and education among others.

The ministry added that Egypt "has been and is calling for concerting international efforts to handle refugee issues from a comprehensive perspective that would devise sustainable solutions, and reinforce the capabilities of host states and societies to hold out. That is in fulfillment of the international shared responsibility concept aimed at dividing duties and responsibilities."

It is noteworthy to mention that no single boat carrying illegal migrants has departed from Egyptian shores since 2016, according to previous statements by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. 

Additional reporting by Noha El Tawil