UK envoy to Ankara praises Turkey’s refugee policy
ANKARA – Anadolu Agency
The U.K.’s top envoy to Ankara has praised Turkey’s efforts in tackling the refugee crisis, saying Turkey set an example for other countries.
“Because of Turkey’s amazingly generous response to the civil war in Syria, in the last five years, Turkey has changed from being a transit country to a destination hub for migrants,” the newly-appointed U.K. envoy to Turkey Dominick Chilcott said on March 6 at a meeting titled “Migration: Global Challenges, Local Perspectives” in Ankara.
Defining Turkey’s efforts in the refugee crisis as “great humanitarian effort,” he said: “The way Turkey has integrated refugees into their health, education and other systems is a model for other countries in responding to a surge of refugees. All of us in the international community are learning lessons from Turkey on how to respond to the protracted refugee crises.”
He further recalled the U.K.’s joint efforts with Turkey in the refugee crisis and stated that Britain, with Turkish partners, was running “13 projects with a budget of about $5 million,” under “the Migration Returns Fund” program.
