IOM welcomes Belarus'efforts to receive 160,000 refugees from Ukraine
Xinhua, November 9, 2016 Adjust font size:
Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) welcomed the significant efforts by Belarus for receiving more than 160,000 Ukrainian citizens in connection with the ongoing conflict in the South East of the country.
IOM Director General William Lacy Swing and Permanent Representative of Belarus to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva Yuri Ambrazevich discussed a wide range of issues related to the cooperation between Belarus and IOM, the press-service of Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
The IOM Director General welcomed the efforts of Belarus that has received over 160,000 Ukrainian citizens fleeing the ongoing conflict in the southeast of Ukraine.
William Lacy Swing also praised Belarus'role in coordinating the international efforts to combat human trafficking.
The Belarusian side expressed confidence that with IOM's new status as a United Nations-affiliated agency as from September 2016, its cooperation with Belarus will be further enhanced.
The official also stressed that Belarus is eager to boost the cooperation in developing biometric documents, managing migration risks, providing reintegration assistance, and facilitating voluntarily return to the country of origin.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in the past two years and a half, about 160,000 Ukrainian refugees came to Belarus. Endit