Meeting on migration with Petra Bendel, Mojib Atal and the former Minister of Refugee and Repatriation of Afghanistan, Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi

Cooperation between the EU and Afghanistan on migration has been the topic of the “Joint Way Forward“ signed in 2016, an informal statement which focused on the complex picture of migration and flight from Afghanistan and conditions for migrants within the region, while also facilitating returns of those Afghan asylum seekers whose asylum applications are rejected in the EU Member States. The current negotiations between the two partners seem to focus strongly on the aspect of deportations, observers say. These issues were discussed in an online meeting between Prof. Dr. Petra Bendel, Mojib Atal and the former Minister of Refugee and Repatriation of Afghanistan, Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi last week. Mr. Balkhi served from 2015 to 2020 as Minister of Refugee and Reparation of Afghanistan. According to the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, more than 709,000 Afghans live currently in Europe. It is the second largest group of by nationality of asylum seekers in Europe.