ICMPD Establishes Coordination and Cooperation Centre for Migration in the Mediterranean
VALLETTA, Malta, May 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
The launching in Malta reinforces the organisation's commitment to staying a key player in migration governance
Six months after the Valletta Summit of Migration there are concerns that the Mediterranean could again be the epicentre of irregular migration flows. With this in mind, the Foreign Minister of Malta, George Vella, and the Director General of ICMPD (International Center for Migration Policy Development), Michael Spindelegger, opened the organisation's "Coordination and Cooperation Center for Migration in the Mediterranean" in Valetta. All future ICMPD activities in the Mediterranean will be coordinated from this new hub. ICMPD's regional activities will be focused on various migration dialogues and technical assistance as well as positively influencing the relationships between the Mediterranean countries.
Half a year after the Valletta Summit of Migration, ICMPD will address the most urgent aspects of irregular migration and forced displacement from its new centre in Malta. At a regional level, the Euromed Migration programme aims to establish a framework that develops and implements evidence-based migration and international protection policies. At a national level, this will initiate the development of a rights-based migration system for Libya as well as the improvement of border management in Lebanon. The "City-to-City" project, implemented by ICMPD, looks at opportunities of migration between eight urban centres in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and will develop new ideas and success stories of migration in between major cities.
ICMPD's Director General, Michael Spindelegger: "The opening of this Coordination and Cooperation Centre for Migration highlights our concerns regarding the migration issues in the Mediterranean. We will bring a valuable contribution to finding solutions and advancing new policies in the migration field in Europe and beyond." Maltese Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Vella, answered: "We are very honored that ICMPD chose Malta for its first regional office and we are confident that our joint efforts will soon bring about much awaited results for the current migration and refugee crisis."
Bernhard Schragl
ICMPD-Spokesman
+43-1-504-4677-2444
bernhard.schragl@icmpd.org
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