The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and United Nations in Egypt launched the Egypt Chapter in the Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan 2018-2019.
Ambassador Mohamed Elbadri, Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs (centre left) speaks at the Launching of the 3RP and Africa Response Plan in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt along with Ambassador Ehab Fawzy, Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security (centre right) and Mr. Karim Atassi, UNHCR Egypt Representative (R). © UNHCR Egypt/Pedro Costa
Cairo, July 10 – The Egyptian Government launched the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan 2018-2019 in response to the Syria Crisis and Egypt Response Plan for Refugees and Asylum-seekers from Sub-Saharan Africa, Iraq and Yemen on Tuesday.
A launching event marking the release of the Response Plans, drafted in collaboration with UNHCR, was held at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassadors from donor countries, representatives of appealing UN agencies, international and regional organizations in Cairo, civil society organizations and Egyptian government institutions were present.
The three keynote speakers inaugurating the event were Ambassador Ihab Fawzi, Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security, Ambassador Dr. Mohamed El Badry, Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs, and UNHCR Egypt Representative Mr. Karim Atassi.
Ambassador Fawzi praised the existing cooperation with UNHCR and UNDP in supporting refugees in Egypt. In addition, he emphasised the role of many Egyptian civil society organizations supporting the Egyptian government in improving the living conditions of refugees.
At the moment Egypt hosts registered refugees and asylum-seekers from over 58 countries.
In his discussion of Egypt’s position towards the Syrian situation in its political and humanitarian aspects, Ambassador El Badry outlined the country’s endeavors to support the Syrian population it hosts.
The Response Plans are a manifestation of the effort Egypt is investing to support refugees and asylum-seekers it hosts from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, sub-Saharan Africa, and other countries. Despite the country’s delicate economic conditions, its government has hospitably borne the political, economic and social consequences of the arrival of increasing numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers.
Both ambassadors called on donor countries and international organizations to boost cooperation with Egypt to enable it to provide the necessary support for the increasing numbers of refugees on its territory and in view of the huge burden borne by the Egyptian government to maintain an adequate response level.
In addition, Mr. Atassi stated that solidarity from the international community is important for Egypt to continue hosting large numbers of refugees & asylum seekers. “A total of 180 million US dollars is needed to support the Egyptian government in meeting the needs of refugees from Syria, sub-Saharan Africa, Iraq and Yemen through the provision of services,” he added.
In her concluding speech, Deputy UNDP representative Ms Naglaa Arafa stressed the importance of multilateral partnerships between the government, development partners, the private sector and civil society to achieve the objectives of the Egyptian response plan to support Syrian refugees.
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