Conference: Cooperation Vital in Migration Management
A three-day conference in migration flows in the Mediterranean was launched on Wednesday in Brdo pri Kranju. In his opening address FM Dimitrij Rupel highlighted cooperation between countries as an important means of successful migration management.
The conference, organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), together with Europol and EU Frontex Agency, brought together representatives of EU member states, as well as of Arab countries and different international organisations.
"Migrations will exist as long as we have a situation where there are social problems, poverty, natural catastrophes and armed conflicts on one side, and prospects for a better life and a brighter future on the other side," Rupel pointed out in his address.
He added that migrations pose one of the biggest challenges in today's world. On the one hand they connect and contribute stronger links between people, civilisations and economies, and on the other they are a time bomb, with racism, poverty and the inability to change things acting as potential detonators, the FM added.
Ivan Bizjak, the director general for justice and home affairs at the Council of the EU, noted that while migrations also have a positive side, the potential negative effects of negative immigrations deserve maximum attention as they often entail great human tragedies.
Bizjak remembered last-year's migration wave to hit the Canary Islands and the refugee crisis in two Spanish enclaves in Morocco.
He explained that the implementation of a global approach to migration was a EU priority, with the bloc focusing on the Mediterranean and Africa.
Meanwhile, Ahmed R.E. Housseiny of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry noted that assessments put the number of migrants at 200m, 3% of world population, in 2005.
He added that the growing understanding of the migration phenomenon should lead to a more effective coordination and management of migration flows.
ICMPD's Gottfried Zurcher on the other hand, highlighted the fact that many are voicing disappointment over conferences of this kind for not bringing any immediate results and concrete solutions.
Zurcher went to explain that a high level of trust is a prerequisite for making progress and added that such meetings contribute to this cause as dialogue is a precondition for cooperation.
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