Canada will take in and resettle some 5,000 Afghan refugees evacuated by the United States, which has withdrawn from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st August, 2021) Canada will take in and resettle some 5,000 Afghan refugees evacuated by the United States, which has withdrawn from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said on Tuesday.
"I'm pleased to announce an agreement with the United States to cooperate on the safe passage of Afghan nationals out of Afghanistan," Mendicino said in a broadcast announcement. "As part of this agreement, Canada will welcome 5,000 refugees evacuated by the United States. These refugees will be accepted as part of Canada's recently announced humanitarian resettlement program,"
Canada has also helped evacuate some 3,700 Afghans from Kabul who had worked alongside its armed forces in the past. Ottawa withdrew its own soldiers from Afghanistan in 2014.
"We're pulling out all the stops to help as many Afghans as possible who want to make their home in Canada," Mendocino said. "Over the weekend, Canada and its allies received assurances from the Taliban [banned in Russia] that Afghan citizens with travel authorization from other countries would be safely allowed to leave Afghanistan."
He said Canada has also set aside 550 million Canadian Dollars ($435 million) to facilitate the provision of food, health care and clean water for the Afghan crisis.
