September 06, 2017•Update: September 06, 2017
By Hajer M'tiri
PARIS
France on Wednesday appointed an ambassador for migration to work closely with migrants' countries of origin and transit in a bid to tackle the migrant crisis.
Government spokesman Christophe Castaner made the announcement following the weekly Cabinet meeting.
The appointee, Pascal Teixeira da Silva, 59, previously served as ambassador to Portugal from 2010 to 2013 and ambassador to Austria from 2014 to 2017.
French President Emmanuel Macron revealed the creation of this office at a mini Euro-African summit in Paris on Aug. 28, during which EU and African leaders agreed on a set of measures on the issue of migration.
Macron also said on Tuesday that France will pass new laws on asylum and immigration policy in the first half of 2018.
