Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany

04/08/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/08/2025 05:48

Minister of State Katja Keul prior to her departure for the Ministerial Meeting of the Khartoum Process in Cairo on 9 April 2025

Prior to her trip to Cairo for the Ministerial Meeting of the member states of the Khartoum Process, Minister of State Katja Keul issued the following statement today (8 April 2025):

European and African ministers are meeting in Egypt to discuss migration on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Khartoum Process. Both sides are committed to combating irregular migration and people smuggling while strengthening safe and regular migration along migration routes.

With the Skilled Immigration Act and digitalisation of visa applications, Germany has laid important groundwork for the promotion of legal pathways for migration.

In view of the current humanitarian refugee crisis in the neighbouring Sudan, which is the largest of its kind in the world, it is important that we pool international efforts at the conference on the Sudan to be held in London in a few days. This will also be a focus of my talks.

Respect for human rights, compliance with international refugee law, including the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continue to be vital for us.

We welcome the fact that the impact of climate change on displacement and forced migration is also addressed in the final document of the Ministerial Meeting.

Special thanks go to the host country Egypt, which is a key partner of the EU in migration policy and has itself taken in a very large number of refugees, thus assuming a great deal of responsibility.

Background information:

Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Katja Keul will travel to Cairo from 8 to 9 April to attend the Ministerial Meeting of the Khartoum Process, an important migration dialogue forum, consisting of 39 member states, between the EU and the African Union on migration routes in eastern and northern Africa.

Egypt, as the host and chair, is seeking the adoption of a final document (the Cairo Declaration) with an associated Action Plan. The focus is on strengthening safe and regular migration, combating human trafficking and people smuggling, upholding human rights and protecting refugees, sustainable returns and reintegration, alleviating the causes of displacement and promoting the role of women, young people and the diaspora.

In Cairo, Minister of State Keul will visit a UNHCR registration centre for refugees, the Goethe-Institut and the German Archaeological Institute, which are flagships of cultural relations and education policy. Bilateral talks with the Sudan and Egypt are also scheduled to take place.