ATHENS – Not wanting to take in refugees and migrants, Switzerland said it would give Greece 40 million euros ($38.88 million) for programs to keep them there and support migrant projects.

Swiss Federal Councillor Karin Keller Sutter and Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarachis signed the agreement, said the site SchengenvisaInfo.com

This is the first agreement with Greece to be signed under the migration framework credit in Switzerland, the European Union having closed its borders to refugees and migrants and Greece now doing the same.’

The money is earmarked for programs including asylum – Greece is holding scores of thousands of refugees and migrants who came from Turkey after going there fleeing war, strife and economic hardship in their homelands.’

Also for infrastructure, integration and voluntary return and reintegration with Turkey largely reneging on terms of an essentially-suspended 2016 swap deal with the European Union in which it is supposed to hold them.

The fund allocated to help Greece and Swizterland’s cooperation focuses on areas where Greece has substantial needs and can benefit from Switzerland’s experience, the report said.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the meeting of EU Justice and Home Affairs ministers in Luxembourg, attended by both Federal Councilor Keller-Sutter and Mitarachis.