 Excellency Antonio Victorino, Director of General of IOM, Christian Affler, Deputy Secretary General for Economic and Global Issues at European External Action Services, Ahmed Erdem, Deputy Minister of Family in the Republic of Turkey, ladies and gentlemen. It gives me great pleasure to address this distinguished audience, to discuss the topic Unlocking the Potential of Youth to respond to the new opportunities and challenges of migration. For 18 years, this August body has been meeting at the IOM's main forum for Migration Policy Dialogue, bringing together a multitude of different stakeholders to discuss the law and policy affecting the movement of people. This year, the IOM has decided to focus on those most affected by migration, namely the world's young people, who currently constitute about a quarter of the world's population and 12% of the population of migrants worldwide. By bringing young people into the conversation, IOM is in fact leading by example, engaging those most concerned in shaping the policies that will govern their future. Ladies and gentlemen, increasingly, societies have begun to realize that while the growing youth bulge brings unique challenges, it also brings unprecedented opportunities for economic growth and social development. Harnessing the potential of youth to unlock these opportunities requires informed and inclusive policies and strategies that recognize the unprecedented awareness and engagement of youth. That is a hallmark of this generation. Investing in young people and recognizing them as leaders and change agents is absolutely necessary to achieve the required transformation into sustainable and resilient societies and to attain the sustainable development goals. Legal UN figures indicate that 90% of the world's young people live in developing countries. This inevitably means that many of these countries will struggle to meet the needs of their growing young populations, including the need for education, services, employment and social security. In fact, many of the policies affecting youth may compel them to migrate, often risking their lives in perilous journeys through the deserts and the seas rather than making migration a matter of choice. Such drivers of irregular migration include lack of meaningful and decent employment, which is known to contribute to social unrest and irregular migration. Generating sufficient employment to accommodate the growing working population is in fact a major development challenge facing all developing countries. Lack of quality education is another significant challenge confronting developing countries and an important push factor. Young people need to acquire the skills and knowledge that are relevant to the country's labor market. Poverty and instability similarly drive youth to look for better opportunities away from home. Ladies and gentlemen, increasingly it has become clear that empowering youth and investing in human capital can create a demographic dividend whereby youth become a powerful force for national development. With this in mind, Egypt is working harder than ever to empower its youth and create the foundations of a strong generation. In 2016, Egypt presidents declared the year of youth, organizing an annual dialogue for young people for all over the world, which brings together thousands of youth to discuss matters of concern to them and develop policy recommendations. These recommendations are later reviewed and implemented through line ministries. Through its 2030 vision, Egypt seeks to achieve inclusive economic and social development through the four pillars of economic development, social justice, environment, knowledge and innovation. Egypt's employment generation strategy coupled with important endeavors in the areas of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship has led unemployment to fall to its lowest level since 2003. Simultaneously, in order to make sure the job growth can keep up with the growing working age population, Egypt is working on providing access to finance for its young people. To establish micro, small and medium enterprises, recognized worldwide as a principal engine for economic growth. These initiatives promise to raise standards of living and contribute to a growing economy. Egypt is also investing in its safety net in order to protect the poorest and the most vulnerable and make sure that no one is left behind. Egypt is also currently in the process of drafting its national policy on migration management as well as a strategy and action plan on the engagement of Egyptian expatriates in all development processes in accordance with the whole of government approach. These endeavors will be discussed in more detail later today during the side event on African youth and sustainable development. Later today, we will also hear more about broader efforts on the African continent to include 1 million young people through education, employment, entrepreneurship and engagement. We look forward to exchanging best practices in this regard. Ladies and gentlemen, simultaneously, Egypt has exerted relentless efforts at the legislative and executive levels to combat illicit trafficking in persons and irregular migration, working hard to ensure that Egyptian youth do not fall prey to the criminal abuse of human smugglers. With the belief that combating this phenomenon requires a comprehensive approach, Egypt has taken important measures in effective border management while simultaneously investing in capacity building and raising awareness through the aware migrant campaign. Egypt's legislation has paid particular attention to the vulnerable situations confronting women and children and the protection of victims of illegal smuggling of migrants. Egypt is also engaged in multiple cooperation arrangements in Africa with its partners from the EU, including the Khartoum process and the EU Horn of Africa initiative. Egypt's comprehensive legal framework and strategy has succeeded in preventing any migrant boats from leaving its shores since 2016. Through our robust cooperation with IOM, we have embarked on a number of projects to enhance and upgrade vocational training centers in Egyptian government rates that were traditionally the highest sources of irregular migrants, with a view to promoting the employability of youth at risk and providing them with alternatives to irregular migration. The tragic reality remains, however, that many African youth still seek alternative routes to cross the Mediterranean with many losing their lives along this dangerous journey. With few prospects for regular pathways for migration, youth are willing to risk their lives in search for livelihoods and prosperity. Clearly, we must do more. The international community cannot remain oblivious to their sufferings. The landmark global compact on migration adopted in Marrakesh in December 2018 provides the international community with a unique opportunity built on a 360-degree approach to migration management to guarantee that migration is regular, safe and dignified. We must all work towards providing dignity and welfare for migrants through ensuring access to basic services without discrimination and facilitating access to decent work, including through recognition of foreign qualifications. We must all cooperate to promote inclusion of migrants through better respect of cultures, traditions and values of both migrants and host communities alike without discrimination. Ladies and gentlemen, young leaders of tomorrow, over the course of the coming two days, you will have the opportunity to address these most pressing issues in the course of your deliberations. You will discuss how to harness technology to better manage migration and raise awareness of the risks of irregular migration, as well as how to challenge traditional norms around youth migration. You will discuss social integration of migrants to ensure inclusive and equitable societies and how to address the environmental drivers of migration. You will discuss the future of work and how to engage diasporas to ensure development. And most importantly, we will listen to you. Those in a position to make policies will learn from the young leaders, change agents and innovators in the field and listen to the unique voices of migrants themselves. I look forward to a constructive and fruitful dialogue. Thank you very much.