US, PHILIPPINES REACH DEAL ON TRANSIT OF “A LIMITED NUMBER” AFGHAN REFUGEES

Tue 20 August 2024:

The US and the Philippines have reached a deal to allow “a limited number” of Afghans to transit to the Philippines while awaiting approval for US visas and resettlement, the State Department said Monday.

“The United States and the Philippines have reached an agreement on allowing a limited number of Afghan nationals to transit to the Philippines to complete their visa processing for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and resettlement to the United States,” it said in a statement.

The US government is supporting necessary services for those Afghans temporarily in the Philippines, including food, housing, security, medical and transportation to complete visa processing, it added.

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“The United States appreciates its long and positive history of bilateral cooperation with the Philippines and thanks the Philippine government for supporting Afghan allies of the United States,” the State Department said.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the agreement was undergoing “final domestic procedures” needed to ensure its effectiveness.

Washington and Manila did not specify the number of Afghans that would undergo visa processing in the Philippines.

But The Washington Post, quoting unnamed US officials, said about 300 Afghan applicants would be processed in the Southeast Asian country.

The deal is the latest sign of deepening ties between Washington and Manila under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose election in 2022 marked a shift away from the China-friendly stance of his populist predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.

More than 160,000 Afghans have been resettled in the US since 2021, when the Taliban retook control of the country following Washington’s withdrawal of its forces.

Thousands of others are in third countries awaiting visa processing for possible relocation under an initiative dubbed Operation Allies Welcome.

Many of those eligible for resettlement worked for the US government before the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan National Security Forces.

Marcos said last June that the proposal raised “many security issues” even as he emphasised the “long tradition” of the Philippines accepting refugees.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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