Merkel, Ghani vow to promote stability, reduce migration from Afghanistan to Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and visiting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani vowed on Wednesday to work jointly to promote stability in Afghanistan and to stem the flow of Afghan migrants coming to Germany.

Speaking at a joint press conference here, Merkel made clear that her country was unwilling to accept all applicants from Afghanistan seeking refuge and that those who were denied asylum would be deported.

Where people are motivated by economic factors rather than a direct threat to life and limb, "in these cases we will have to send people back to Afghanistan," the chancellor said.

More than 140,000 Afghans have reportedly fled insecurity in their home country this year alone. The majority of them have ended up in Germany, where they now comprise the second largest group of asylum seekers after Syrians.

Merkel and Ghani agreed that the key to stemming the flow of migrants was to develop Afghanistan. Both leaders vowed to create opportunities in the country.

Germany, Merkel said, would support the creation of "safe zones" inside Afghanistan in order to provide displaced people with regions that could offer high security.

Meanwhile, Germany would also intensify its development work, providing both housing and vocational training in the safe zones, she added.

In addition, Merkel and Ghani also announced they would improve their cooperation in training Afghan police forces to better tackle human trafficking and passport forgery. Endit