Austria's readmission agreement: A milestone in the migration fight!

Austria's readmission agreement: A milestone in the migration fight!

In a significant step to combat illegal migration, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) initialed a readmission agreement with Kazakhstan on Wednesday evening in Valletta, the Maltese capital. The agreement was signed ahead of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council meeting and marks the fifth agreement of its kind with the countries of Indonesia, Ghana, Kuwait and Kenya. How oe24 reported, the agreement is intended to ensure that rejected asylum seekers from Austria are returned to Kazakhstan.

There are currently only a few asylum applications from Kazakh nationals in Austria; Last year only 14 applications were submitted, two of which were approved. The current rejection rate is a high 57.1 percent. As of October this year, 17 asylum applications have been recorded, underlining the preventive effect of the agreement as there is little pressure from migrants from Kazakhstan, such as orf.at reported. Schallenberg emphasized that it is important to act with foresight, as migration dynamics can change quickly.

Important bilateral discussions

In Valletta, Schallenberg also met with other high-ranking officials, including Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, with whom he discussed negotiations on a hostage deal in the Gaza Strip. These developments come against a background in which the security of the UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon was also discussed. Schallenberg will continue to hold bilateral talks, including with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and the foreign ministers of Finland and Georgia.