Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security Ambassador Hisham Badr inaugurated on Thursday the third Ministerial Meeting of the AU-Horn of Africa Initiative (AU-HoAI) on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants.

In his speech at the opening session, Badr asserted that the African countries are required to cooperate and coordinate in order to stop the trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants phenomenon.

He added that the trafficking in persons is a negative phenomenon that threatens individuals and community's peace all around the world.

The Egyptian government is giving a great attention to such phenomenon, Badr said, adding that the Egyptian government is trying its best to strictly deal with such phenomenon at the national and international levels.

He also said that Egypt will participate in the upcoming meeting planned to be held on June 21-22 in Brussels at the level of experts and expected to follow up Valletta summit's outcomes.

During the meeting, Badr reviewed a number of proposals that aim to develop and activate the initiative including evaluating the initiative from its launching until now, launching a website for the imitative, preparing a national and regional projects that can be implemented as soon as possible and urging European partnerships and others to implement such projects and to give more attention to the unaccompanied minors.

Source: MENA