Merkel and Guterres to continue cooperation on refugees

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday (February 17) the country is committed to fighting the flight and displacement of refugees on the ground, after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Munich.

"We know that the number of refugees in the world is the largest we’ve ever had since World War Two, and that’s why we supported the predecessor in seeing the humanitarian challenges of flight and displacement as a global task," she said on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference.

Guterres, who took office at the start of January, said "global responses" were needed "to address the enormous challenges of today’s world."

He added that Germany had been a "symbol of tolerance" with their efforts in the refugee crisis.