Director General of Ministry of Interior’s Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs Mehdi Mahmoudi, provincial bureaus directors-general, directors of Technical and Vocational Training Organization in provinces, representative of Germany’s Embassy in Tehran, and representatives of Iranian NGOs participated in the meeting to discuss new ideas and the path ahead of the project to train Afghan refugees.
Mahmoudi said in the meeting that Iran has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for over four decades and has provided them with the same educational, health, and vocational services as it provides for Iranian citizens.
He underlined that Afghan refugees’ refusal to voluntarily return to Afghanistan and the lack of required infrastructure in their country has led to extension of their residence in Iran.
The voluntary return is the most important solution and of high priority in solving the refugees' problems and should be taken serious by building required infrastructure and incentivizing refugees, educated people in particular, Mahmoudi noted.
He also stated that it was imperative that more investment and expansion of activities should be done through careful planning in line with the policies and objectives of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
