Wednesday, 27 February 2019
While the Migration Week is underway in New York, the Government of Ecuador, represented by Mr. Santiago Chavez Pareja, Vice Minister for Human Mobility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted a reception to mark the launch of their Chairmanship of the 2019 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) on 27 February at the UN Headquarters. Held after the High-Level Debate on International Migration and Development convened by the President of the UN General Assembly, the reception was attended by over 100 representatives of Member States, civil society, business and the youth.
The reception served as an opportunity for the Ecuadorian GFMD Chair to present the 2019 thematic priorities and work plan which is organized under the overarching theme: “Sustainable approaches to human mobility: upholding rights, strengthening state agency, and advancing development through partnerships and collective action.”
The UN President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, joined the launch and extended UNGA's full support towards the realization of the agenda of the Ecuadorian Chair and the GFMD process as a whole.
The GFMD 2019 Chair welcomed the guests in the presence of Ambassador Götz Schmidt-Bremme, representing the GFMD 2017-2018 Co-Chairmanship, who assured Ecuador of the German-Moroccan Co-chairs' support. VM Chavez Pareja articulated that Ecuador will play a bridging role to nurture common ground among governments who may have different perspectives on the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) and further strengthen the dialogue among the GFMD stakeholders, including with the local authorities and the academia.
The event was organized in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the UN in New York.