Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry delivered a recorded speech as part of the high-level International Organization for Migration (IOM) meeting, entitled “The Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Migration and Mobility”.
Ambassador Ahmed Hafez, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Minister Shoukry’s speech addressed the repercussions of the Corona pandemic on migration flows and labour movements around the world.
He noted that the pandemic had led to economic instability, resulting in the loss of many migrant jobs, causing a significant reduction in migrant remittances, which were an important source of income for countries of origin
“The fact that labour markets in their countries of origin were unable to absorb them had affected economic development in both countries of origin and destination”, Shoukry said
Minister Shoukry stressed the importance of initiating a multilateral dialogue at the national, regional and international levels to devise strategies to harmonize cross-border safety and health measures in cases of global crises.
This includes mutual recognition of health certificates and vaccines, as well as encouraging the movement of migrants to alleviate the global economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,
He stressed the importance of including migrants and refugees in national public health responses, giving them equitable access to treatment and vaccines, and including them in social protection plans.
Minister Shoukry stressed the importance of joining efforts and strengthening international cooperation and solidarity to formulate medium- and long-term policies and plans to mitigate the negative effects of the epidemic on economic and social development
