Australia and the United States have reached a resettlement deal for asylum seekers held in offshore detention centers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. 
Under the agreement, the migrants there will be assessed and the most vulnerable will be resettled in the US. 
About 1,200 people are being held in the asylum centers on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and on Nauru island. 
Australia's policy of sending migrants who arrive by boat to offshore facilities has been criticized. 
Announcing the deal with the US on Sunday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the resettlement process would be gradual. 
"US authorities will conduct their own assessment of refugees and decide which people are resettled in the US," he said. 
He did not say how many refugees would be relocated, but said that women, children and families would be prioritized. 
The agreement, to be administered with the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, is available only to those currently in the processing centers. 
"It is a one-off agreement. It will not be repeated," Turnbull said US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed the arrangement, adding that his country was "very engaged" with the UNHCR and helping refugees "there and in other parts of the world".

Source: QNA