Egyptian Foreign Ministry calls on the international community to support Egypt in hosting 10 million refugees - Sarmad
Egypt has renewed its call on the international community to provide tangible support to help it bear the economic and developmental burdens resulting from hosting more than 10 million refugees.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, during a meeting on Thursday with Susan Rab, Director General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), stated that his country adopts a comprehensive approach to migration issues. Egypt hosts more than 10 million migrants, including Sudanese and Syrians, at an estimated cost of over $10 billion annually, according to official estimates.
During the meeting, held on the sidelines of his visit to the Austrian capital Vienna, Abdelatty outlined what he described as the heavy burdens shouldered by the Egyptian state due to hosting millions of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants. He noted that refugees receive basic services and enjoy their rights on an equal footing with Egyptian citizens, in line with Egypt’s policy of non-discrimination and the absence of refugee camps, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He emphasized that this situation imposes increasing economic and developmental burdens on his country, stressing the importance of refugees and asylum seekers regularizing their status in accordance with national regulations and laws. He underscored the importance of activating the principle of burden and responsibility sharing at the international level, which would contribute to mobilizing further support for national development programs and joint initiatives, and enhance the sustainability of service provision to refugees, migrants, and host communities, within a balanced approach that links development requirements with sound migration management.
Last Thursday, Abdelatty reaffirmed that his country adopts a comprehensive approach to migration issues, taking into account humanitarian, political, security, and developmental dimensions. He stressed Cairo’s priority of encouraging regular and safe migration pathways, particularly in the field of labor mobility to European labor markets, in order to serve mutual interests and meet labor market needs.
He praised the partnership between his government and the ICMPD, describing it as evolving and reflecting a commitment to enhancing coordination and expanding cooperation horizons in the field of migration.
Last month, Elena Pankova, the UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, confirmed that the number of refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Egypt stands at 1.1 million. She stated that this figure represents only a portion of the total number of refugees, migrants, and foreigners hosted by Egypt, which amounts to 10.5 million people, according to announcements by the Egyptian President.
