The GFMD and the private sector
After an initial phase of exploration in 2012, the foundation for private sector engagement in the GFMD was laid during the Swedish (2013-2014) and Turkish (2014-2015) terms and in 2015, Member States officially welcomed the establishment of the GFMD Business Mechanism (or Business Advisory Group on Migration).
Since 2016, the GFMD Business Mechanism brings the voice of private sector to the Forum advocating for migration policies that consider economic perspectives. The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) hosts the secretariat to the GFMD Business Mechanism.
For more information, please visit the GFMD Business Mechanism’s website.
To find out more about the outcomes of the past Business meetings, please view the outcomes documents from each year below:
The 2018 Business Mechanism meeting, held on 6 December as part of the Marrakesh GFMD Summit, presented stories, reactions and recommendations from both business and governments around the theme “Implementation of the GCM: how business will judge success in the 21st century world of work”. Discussion included a focus on, inter alia, the role of business in implementing the GCM, how migration is and will be needed to face the complex skills-gaps experienced by businesses, and whether and how business should advocate more publicly for the benefits of migration.
11th GFMD Summit, Business Mechanism Meeting Agenda
6 December 2018
In 2017, the Business Mechanism hosted a round of global and regional business consultations in line with its four thematic priorities: (1) skills mobility, (2) responsible recruitment, (3) skills matching and (4) entrepreneurship. The Business Meeting also took an active role in the Global Compact for Migration preparatory process by contributing written content and engaging business speakers in the consultations in Geneva and New York, as well as at the Stocktaking Meeting in Puerto Vallarta.
- 10th GFMD Summit, Business Mechanism Meeting Summary Report
29 June, 2017 - Toward a Global Compact on Migration: Perspectives on Labour Migration from the GFMD Business Mechanism
Official Business mechanism report, 2017
In April 2016 a Business Mechanism Awareness Meeting was held on Enhancing the Public-Private Dialogue on Migration and Development, and in July 2016 the GFMD Business Mechanism Thematic Meeting took place. As a culmination of activities, the first GFMD Business Meeting took place at the Ninth GFMD Summit Meeting in Dhaka, focusing on the role of business in the Global compact for orderly and responsible migration.
Held in Istanbul on 15-16 May, the 2015 Business Meeting established the Business Mechanism as a formal and continuing part of GFMD activities. If was focused on the central theme: ‘Are businesses fit to compete in the global competition for skills? Strengthening public-private dialogue to rethink labor migration policies and international skills mobility in the framework of the GFMD’.
- 8th GFMD Summit, Business Mechanism Meeting Report
11 December 2016 - Proposal on a Future Public-Private Sector Interaction Mechanism in the Framework of the GFMD
15-16 May 2015 - Background Paper: Are businesses fit to compete in the global competition for skills?
IOM, 2015