CAIRO, Oct 22 (MENA) - Egypt's Ambassador to Portugal Wael El Naggar welcomed a Portuguese initiative to resettle 300 refugees registered in Egypt, based on an agreement the European country is expected to sign with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) soon.

This initiative falls within the framework of implementing the principle of burden-sharing, especially in light of the large number of refugees, which surpassed 10 million, Egypt hosts, Naggar said during a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State of the Presidency in Portugal Rui Armindo Freitas on Tuesday.

Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Migration, Refugees, and Combating Human Trafficking Wael Badawi attended the meeting, according to an official press release.

Naggar expressed hopes for increasing the number of resettled refugees from Egypt, given the distinguished relations between both countries.

During the meeting, the Egyptian ambassador also reviewed aspects of joint cooperation to open up recruitment opportunities for skilled seasonal workers from Egypt, taking into account the needs of the Portuguese labor market.

Naggar said he is looking forward to signing a proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) to regulate this process, akin to other memorandums Egypt signed with some European countries.

He thanked the Portuguese government for hosting the joint High-Level Meeting of the Khartoum Process and Rabat Process under the Egyptian and Portuguese co-chairmanship on October 16-17. The meeting provided a platform for EU-African dialogue on labor migration, skills development, and mobility. (MENA)

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