PM urges rich countries to help avoid refugee crises, conflicts

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday said the main idea behind the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) was to make the rich countries realise the problems which were bearing the disproportionate burden of refugees and urged them to play their role in avoiding conflicts.

“The more powerful countries can play a major role in avoiding the conflicts that are leading to this problem which is increasing in this world,” he said in a video message for GRF’s social media zone in Geneva.

The Global Refugee Forum, the first major meeting on refugees of the 21st century, was jointly hosted by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the Government of Switzerland. The prime minister is the co-convener of the Forum along with the leaders of Turkey, Costa Rica, Germany and Ethopia.

The prime minister, in his message, said the refugee problem in the world had doubled since 2001 as most of the refugees, 70 per cent, were women and children, and what more among them 80 per cent were in the developing world.

The forum provided an opportunity to highlight the issues of those countries which did not have the resources and means to look after such large influx of the refugees just in the past ten years, he added.

The prime minister, about his participation in the world forum, said his main purpose for being there was to make the world realise the issue.

“Pakistan has been the second largest refugees’ population in the world and has been hosting the Afghan refugees for the last 40 years,” he said. He paid special tribute to the country’s people for showing the hospitality and ‘big heart to accommodate such a big refugee population’.

Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI‘s video message for the GRF’s Social Media zone #PMImranKhan #UNRefugeeForum2019 #UNHCR pic.twitter.com/7ojzsMV3yV

— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) December 17, 2019