Cairo - IOM welcomed embassy representatives to a roundtable held to discuss services available to migrants and plans for future engagement. During the roundtable, IOM presented its migrant protection and assistance services, including briefing on localized assistance, assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) and health services. IOM further outlined the eligibility criteria for these services and how migrants can access them. With the goal to improve the services extended to migrants and to ensure they respond to the needs of the migrant communities, IOM welcomed feedback from embassies as well as suggestions for possible areas of intervention.

 “In the past years, Egypt has been a country of transit of mixed-migration flows. Migrants are at risk of being stranded and vulnerable in Egypt, hence easily exposed to exploitation. In this context, IOM offers assistance services to vulnerable migrants to enjoy their basic rights; these services are complementary to those available through other stakeholders and actors.” said Mr. Andrea Dabizzi, Head of Migrant Protection and Assistance Unit at IOM Egypt.

Participants discussed possible areas of coordination and agreed on future areas of cooperation and regular communication through establishing platforms for information and expertise sharing.

This is the first roundtable of its kind hosted by IOM Egypt.; having welcomed positive feedback from participants, IOM plans to replicate the experience in the near future to stimulate engagement from migrant communities and the diplomatic community. The roundtable also supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially goals 3, 8, 10 and 16  and the realization of the social justice pillar of Egypt’s Strategy for Sustainable Development: Vision 2030.

For more information, please contact Monica Ibrahim at IOM Egypt, Tel: +2 02 2736 5140/1 Email: mgibrahim@iom.int