Britain said to have entered talks to deport migrants to Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Britain has entered talks to replicate the Rwanda migrant deportation scheme with Armenia, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica and Botswana, according to leaked documents that reveal the government’s extensive search for another third-country deal, The Times reports.

Several South American countries including Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Brazil and Colombia have also been approached but were viewed as less likely to be interested in what the government describes as a “third-country asylum processing deal”.

A list of African countries including Cape Verde, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Angola and Sierra Leone were put on a reserve list that would be approached if other targets failed.

Other African countries including Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia and The Gambia “explicitly declined” to enter technical discussions.

According to reports, concerns were expressed that issues with the Rwanda Bill could put potential candidates off, with Armenia for example said to be awaiting the outcome of the policy, which is set to cost at least £290 million.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak has signed up to pay £370m over five years to Rwanda even if no migrant is deported, according to the NAO. It revealed the UK will also pay £150,874 per migrant for a five-year processing and integration package including housing, food, education and medical services. This would cost some £4.5 billion if 30,000 migrants were deported.