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World Refugee Day: about 6.5 million Afghans are refugees across globe
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) says that an estimated 6.5 million Afghans are living as migrants or asylum seekers in about 70 countries.
Addressing a press conference on the occasion of World Refugee Day (June 20), Abdul Basit Ansari, a spokesman for the MoRR, said that Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey host the largest number of Afghan refugees.
“Currently, about 6.5 Afghans are living as migrants in more than 70 countries, and that most of them have migrated to Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey,” Ansari said.
He added that more than four million Afghans, have been forced to flee their homes due to ongoing clashes across the country.
Meanwhile, at an event organized by the Afghan government and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to mark World Refugee Day, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, reaffirmed the government’s strong commitment to enabling voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity, and sustainable reintegration of Afghan refugees.
“They are an integral part of Afghanistan and without them, the Afghan nation is incomplete”, Ghani said.
The UNHCR in a statement stated that Afghans constitute the world’s largest protracted refugee situation around the globe, with millions displaced at different time intervals.
According to the statement 2020 recorded about 132,700 Afghan refugees, though an overall reduction in numbers in 2020, Afghans still remain the third-largest population displaced across borders with a total of about 2.6 million refugees.
More than 85 percent of Afghan refugees are hosted in Iran and Pakistan, the statement noted.
“Afghan refugees and diaspora abroad have accumulated a wealth of human capital, skills, and assets with which they can play an important role in the nation-building, and reconstruction and development of Afghanistan,” President Ghani said.
Speaking on the occasion of World Refugee Day, Caroline Van Buren, UNHCR’s Representative in Afghanistan commended Government’s efforts in including returnees and displaced Afghans in the national priority programs particularly health, education, and livelihood sectors.
“Inclusion and addressing the vulnerabilities of returnees displaced population through coordinated and comprehensive area-based humanitarian and development investments to build the resilient communities is at the heart of our (government and UNHCR’s) strategies in Afghanistan,” she said.
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IEA reports distribution of over 3,000 land plots to returning refugees
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, has stated that following a special meeting of the High Commission for Addressing the Problems of Migrants, chaired by Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the process of land distribution by the Permanent Committee for Refugee Settlement has been accelerated.
Fitrat said in a statement on Friday that so far, 3,046 plots of land have been distributed by the committee to refugees who were forcibly expelled and have recently returned to the country, across various provinces.
The distribution process continues for others as well, he added.
He stated the process of providing winter assistance to returning refugees in different provinces has also been accelerated. This aid includes food and non-food items as well as cash assistance.
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Putin: Russia supports united, independent and peaceful Afghanistan
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia supports a united, independent and peaceful Afghanistan and believes in strengthening regional stability, security and constructive engagement.
He made the remarks during a ceremony to receive the credentials of Gul Hassan Hassan, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to Moscow.
According to a statement from the Afghan Embassy in Russia, Putin referred in his speech to recent positive developments in Afghanistan and praised measures taken by the IEA to combat narcotics and ensure security.
Gul Hassan Hassan, the Ambassador of IEA to Moscow, formally presented his credentials to President Putin at an official ceremony held at the Kremlin Palace on Thursday.
Following the presentation of credentials, the two sides held a separate meeting in which Ambassador Hassan expressed appreciation for Putin’s remarks and conveyed messages from the Leader of the Islamic Emirate, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Both sides emphasized the need to expand bilateral relations and continue cooperation.
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IEA ambassador meets Afghan traders based in UAE
Badruddin Haqqani, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates, has met and held talks with a number of prominent Afghan elders and traders residing in the country.
According to a statement issued by the Afghan Embassy in the UAE on Friday, Afghan traders at the meeting described the Afghan Embassy as the shared home of all Afghans and said that supporting the governing system in the country is their Islamic and moral responsibility.
They also raised several commercial challenges and called on the Afghan Embassy to pay special attention to supporting the rights of Afghan workers and traders in the UAE.
Badruddin Haqqani said that serving Afghans residing in the country and defending their legitimate rights are among the embassy’s top priorities, emphasizing that comprehensive efforts will be made to create necessary facilities and address existing problems.
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