Rwanda has signed a multimillion-dollar agreement with London to welcome migrants and asylum seekers of various nationalities from the United Kingdom to its soil, Kigali announced on Thursday during a visit by the minister. English Interior Priti Patel.

"Rwanda welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to welcome asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal avenues to live" in this East African country, said in a press release the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta.

The announcement came hours before an expected speech by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was due to announce new measures on Thursday to tackle illegal immigration.

An agreement at 144 million euros

Boris Johnson has made the fight against this immigration his priority after Brexit, but migrant crossings have continued to increase in the Channel.

For months, Boris Johnson and his government have been seeking to conclude agreements with third countries where to send migrants while waiting to process their file.

Rwanda and Ghana had been mentioned, but Ghana strongly denied in January that it was in discussions with the United Kingdom on the subject.

The agreement with Rwanda, which will be financed by the United Kingdom to the tune of 120 million pounds (144 million euros), provides that migrants - whose nationalities or conditions of arrival are not specified - are "integrated into communities across the country,” according to the statement released by Kigali.

"It's about ensuring that people are protected, respected and that they can achieve their own ambitions and settle permanently in Rwanda if they wish," adds Vincent Biruta.

The British Parliament is also about to adopt a law which could authorize the creation of centers abroad to deport migrants while their applications are being processed or even authorize the coast guard to push migrants out of British waters. migrant boats.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), this law, if adopted, would contradict the Geneva Convention for Refugees, which the United Kingdom has signed.

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