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CAIRO, January 14 (Xinhua) – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al Sisi emphasized on Monday the importance of addressing the phenomenon of the influence of refugees and all types of human displacement facing their main causes and dimensions linked to development, politics and security stability.
Sisi's observations emerged during the meeting with the commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in Cairo.
The Egyptian president stressed that Egypt carries heavy burdens as a destination for refugees in terms of commitment to international conventions establishing a good life for refugees, according to the official MENA agency.
He noted that Egypt has not received any international support to alleviate the burden and pressures resulting from hosting refugees in the country.
For his part, Grandi affirmed the enthusiasm of the United Nations refugee agency on the increase of cooperation with Egypt, underlining its fundamental role in regional and international arenas.
The UN official appreciated the efforts of Cairo to host large numbers of refugees of various nationalities and treat them as citizens, as well as its success in stopping illegal immigration from its shores for over two years.
Sisi declared in December that his country is home to almost five million refugees from different countries.
At the beginning of the day, Grandi held a meeting with the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ambassador of African Affairs, Hamdi Sanad Loza.
During the meeting, Loza said that Egypt treated all refugees in the same way regardless of their nationality, adding that the Egyptian government is also willing to provide international protection for them.
The Foreign Ministry said in a press release that Grandi praised the efforts made by the Egyptian government to protect refugees.
Grandi also expressed the appreciation of his agency for the services offered by Egypt to refugees who place a large burden on the economy of the host country, considering the tension on resources and opportunities between the different sectors, according to the declaration.
Also on Monday, the Secretary General of the Arab League (AL), Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, discussed with Grandi to develop cooperation between the pan-Arab organization and the UN refugee office, in line with a memorandum an agreement signed by the two parties in September 2017 The needs of Arab refugees inside and outside the Arab region.
Arab League spokesman Mahmoud Afifi said Aboul-Gheit expressed appreciation for the efforts made by the UN refugee office to address the difficult humanitarian conditions afflicting large numbers of Arab refugees as a result of armed conflict in some Arab countries, in particular Syria, Yemen and Libya, which forced an unprecedented number of people to flee their countries.
The spokesperson added that the commissioner reviewed the programs, activities and plans of the UN refugee agency in the Arab region during the meeting to address the growing number of Syrian refugees.
Speaking to journalists after his meetings in Cairo, Grandi asked to provide further assistance to Egypt, given the large number of refugees, especially Syrians and Africans in the country.
The UN official said that the international community did not recognize Egypt as one of the refugee receiving countries, until the problem of illegal immigration across the Mediterranean emerged, current assistance provided to Cairo as insufficient.
Grandi reiterated that his agency is trying to offer technical and humanitarian support for Cairo, noting that the value of UN refugee programs in the country in 2017 ranged from 40 to 50 million dollars in the United States alone.
It has also called for support for African states, so that they can bear the high burden caused by the huge influx of refugees and displaced persons, whose number is growing in areas affected by the conflict such as Somalia, South Sudan and Burundi.
In addition, Grandi said that Brussels will soon host a conference to explore the possibility of providing the necessary financial aid of five billion US dollars to displaced persons in Syria and neighboring countries. Enditem
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