Minister of the Interior Affairs Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli travelled to New York in order to take part at a United Nations summit on refugees and migrants on Sep. 19, held separate meetings on Tuesday with UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, Swiss Head of the Department of Justice and Police Simonetta Sommaruga as well as Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.
During his meeting with UNHCR Grandi, the Iranian minister voiced Iran’s concern over the situation of illegal immigrants that has created many problems for the Iranian government and nation, adding “the UN and other relevant international organizations need to put in more efforts in helping Afghanistan’s government with the organization and return of illegal immigrants back to their homeland.”
Rahmani Fazli went on to note that the UN assistance to Iran is very meager and only covers less than three per cent of its expenses in dealing with the refugees. He further called on international aid bodies to make more efforts in providing the required expenditure to take care of the medical, educational and food costs of refugees and displaced people.
The UNHCR, for his part, stressed that his observations during his visit to Iran indicated that Iran’s treatment toward refugees is exemplary in the world.
Rahmani Fazli also met with Swiss Head of the Department of Justice and Police Simonetta Sommaruga, where the two sides called for expansion of cooperation in the fields of refugees, exchanging experiences and following up on related agreements.
“Iran’s appropriate hosting of immigrants and its regulatory measures have prevented the flood of migration to Europe, but European countries fail to perform their own legal and international duties in regard to the country of origin and destination," he said.
In a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Rahmani Fazli stressed the expansion of Iran-Armenia relations in all areas of mutual interest. The two sides also agreed on bolstering cooperation in various fields of security and organized crime.
Iran is one of the countries with the highest number of refugees, hosting millions of refugees mainly from Afghanistan and Iraq.
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