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On 21-22 January, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), led by H.E., Ambassador Shahidul Haque, kicked off the 2016 Chairmanship of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) by organizing different consultations with main stakeholders and organizing a public seminar on migration and development in Dhaka.
Mr. Peter Sutherland, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for International Migration (SRSG), was guest of honor during a joint Ministerial breakfast meeting on 21 January with Hon. Foreign Minister, Mr. Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, M.P., and Hon. Minister for Expatriate’s Welfare & Overseas Employment, Mr. Nurul Islam, BSc. Also present during this meeting were Ambassador Eva Akerman-Borje, GFMD 2013-2014 Chair, Mr. John Bingham, Programme Director of ICMC, coordinating office of the GFMD civil society days, and officials from several donor governments.
Ambassador Haque and the Bangladesh GFMD Team met extensively with the SRSG, the GFMD 2013-2014 Chair and the ICMC to share experiences from previous GFMD meetings and to have informal discussions on the proposed concept paper and work program of the Bangladesh GFMD Chair. 2016. This was followed by a brief interaction with the Bangladesh Civil Society and business.
On 22 January, the MFA, in collaboration with the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), organized a public seminar on “Migration and Development: Challenges and Perspectives” in Dhaka, to kick off the Bangladesh Chairmanship of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in 2016.
Moderated by the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Shahidul Haque, the seminar gathered some 200 participants from governments, international organizations, civil society and private sector. Eminent persons from the field of migration and development were invited, including Sir Peter Sutherland, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) on International Migration; Mr. John Bingham, Civil Society Coordinator of the GFMD; and Ambassador Eva Akerman Borje, Swedish Chair of the GFMD 2013-2014, to share their perspectives.
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On 16 October, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru led the concluding session of the 8th GFMD Summit Meeting which took place in Istanbul from 14 to 16 October 2015, in the presence of Ambassador Mehmet Samsar, Turkish MFA Director General for Consular Affairs, Mr. Shahidul Haque, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, incoming GFMD 2016 Chair, and Mr. Peter Sutherland, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for International Migration.
Around 600 delegates from 150 countries and 30 international organizations witnessed the concluding plenary session of the 8th GFMD Summit, which began with the Reports on the outcomes of the Roundtable discussions, the special session on the Future of the Forum, and the special session on the Platform for Partnerships. Thereafter, Ambassador Samsar delivered the initial conclusions of the Turkish GFMD Chairmanship, followed by the statement of the incoming GFMD 2016 Chair-in-Office Bangladesh, as delivered by Foreign Secretary Haque.
In his closing remarks, Deputy Foreign Minister urged the Global Forum not to forget, in the face of international migration crisis, that migration is generally a positive thing – it has tremendous potential to promote development in origin and host countries, through trade, investment, cultural exchange and powerful new networks of knowledge. But this potential, he underlined, can only be realized by “strengthening partnerships” to make sure that human mobility contributes to sustainable development, as embodied in the overarching theme of the Turkish GFMD Chairmanship.
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The 8th Summit Meeting of the Global Forum for Migration and Development took place in Istanbul on 14-16 October 2015, hosted by former Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu. Turkey is chairing the GFMD since 1 July 2014.
Prime Minister H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu inaugurated the Forum which brings together participants from 150 countries and high level officials of international organizations, particularly UN Deputy Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Alliance of Civilizations High Representative, and UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration, EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations and addressed the participants.
In his address, Prime Minister Davutoğlu hailed the Forum as a unique and the most broadly participated event bringing together many countries from different continents of the world. Prime Minister Davutoğlu also underlined that discussing the latest issues topping the migration and development agenda with the active participation of the representatives of international organizations, civil society and private sector in İstanbul for three days is a timely and opportune event and touched upon the migration crisis. Stressing the need to come up together with solutions to the tragedies on the basis of common humanitarian values rather than ignoring them, Prime Minister Davutoğlu drew attention to Turkey’s exemplary efforts for the Syrian and Iraqi refugees for four years. In his address, Prime Minister Davutoğlu reminded that Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees according to the figures of UNHCR and also drew attention to the contrast between the aid offered by Turkey to Syrian refugees, which is 8 billion US Dollars, and the total amount of aid extended by the international community, which remains at 417 million US Dollars.
Speaking at the Global Forum on Migration and Development, Foreign Minister Sinirlioğlu said “Until and unless we proactively push for and support peace processes to end ongoing conflicts; address the humanitarian suffering first and foremost where it is taking place; establish and enforce safe zones where we can protect civilians from indiscriminate acts of violence; and, aggressively and resolutely take the fight to the terrorists wherever they are finding havens, we cannot prevent the kind of spontaneous mass migration that has taken us all by storm.” Underlining that the time is ripe to mobilize our efforts, address the root causes that trigger patterns of migration and prevent conflicts, Foreign Minister Sinirlioğlu stressed Turkey’s commitment to spare no effort to protect human lives through the strengthening of cooperation and partnerships. Foreign Minister Sinirlioğlu also reiterated Turkey’s resolve to continue its proactive efforts to prevent conflicts.
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12 October 2015 -- On behalf of the Turkish Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) 2014-2015, Ms. Esen Altuğ, Deputy Director-General for Migration, Asylum and Visa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed the opening of the 2015 Civil Society Days held in Istanbul, which was attended by around 300 participants representing different sectors of civil society from all regions of the world.
Since 2007, the Civil Society Days have preceded the GFMD Government Meeting, paving the way for a purposeful interaction between civil society organizations and governments. The outcomes and recommendations of the 2015 Civil Society Days will be delivered during the opening ceremony of the Government Meeting on 14 October.
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Around 150 countries will gather from 14 to 16 October 2015 in Istanbul for the 8th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit Meeting taking place under the Chairmanship of Turkey, as represented by H.E. Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Turkish GFMD Summit comes in the wake of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and amidst heightened global attention on migrants’ plight.
UN Deputy Secretary General H.E. Jan Eliasson will deliver the keynote address which revolves around the Turkish Chairmanship theme, “Strengthening Partnerships: Migration and Human Mobility for Sustainable Development.” Istanbul’s 2,500-year-old history at the crossroads between Europe and Asia serves as the perfect scenario for the upcoming summit meeting, fostering intercultural dialogue in the face of new migration challenges.
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On 15 July 2015, the Turkish Chair of the 2014-15 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) convened the GFMD Thematic Meeting on The Mediterranean Crisis in a Global Context: A New Look at Migration and Development Approaches" at the Palais’ D’Egmont in Brussels.
Around 100 representatives from governments, international organizations and the civil society participated and brought into the discussions the points of view of origin, transit, and destination countries, with the end in view of managing and ultimately resolving the crisis.
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3 June 2015, Izmir, Turkey–A joint meeting of the G20, Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), and the Global Migration Group (GMG) took place in Izmir on 3 June 2015, at the margins of the G-20 Development Working Group meeting. The joint event was hosted....
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On 15-16 May 2015, the Turkish Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), represented by Ambassador Mehmet Samsar, and the Government of Switzerland, represented by Ambassador Eduard Gnesa, co-hosted a GFMD Private Sector meeting in Istanbul, bringing together a select number of business decision makers from the ICT and Food, Beverage and hospitality sectors, relevant government policy makers, and other key stakeholders.
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On 29 April 2015, the Turkish Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) together with the Governments of Mexico and Greece, co-convened the second GFMD Thematic Meeting on “The role of communications in promoting widespread recognition of the benefits of migration, improving public perceptions of migrants, combating discrimination, and promoting integration” in Geneva.
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Geneva-28 to 30 April 2015. The Turkish GFMD Chair convened the 4th round of preparatory meetings, the second Thematic GFMD Meeting on “the role of communications" and the second preparatory meetings of Government Roundtable Teams.