Assistant Foreign Minister: Egypt adopts a strategic vision and a comprehensive approach in dealing with immigration issues
At the beginning of his speech, Ambassador Ihab Badawi called on the audience to observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Moroccan earthquake and Hurricane Daniel in Libya. He welcomed the participants to Egypt to discuss the issue of return, acceptance and reintegration of migrants, which is an important pillar and aspect of the migration governance process, and one of the main goals. Which are included in the International Covenant on Migration, at a time when political and economic crises, in addition to the negative repercussions of climate change, have led to an increase in illegal immigration in the region, and an increase in the number of deaths at sea and in the desert to the highest rates since 2017, reaching about 3,800 cases in 2022. It is a huge loss of life on a human level, and a waste of positive energies and young people who could have contributed to building their countries.
He said that holding this dialogue comes within the framework of the importance of cooperation, dialogue and exchange of best practices in order to promote voluntary return and reintegration in a way that preserves dignity and provides opportunities for a better future for our youth.
In this regard, he stressed the importance of governments’ participation and adoption of reintegration programs to ensure their suitability to the local reality in its economic, social and cultural dimensions, as well as their consistency with development plans at the local and national levels, and their integration with the national programs and system, in addition to the participation of the private sector and local communities in their implementation.