IOM’s Director General Amy Pope hosted a meeting with the Commissioner for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia, Natasa Stanisavljevic, on the occasion of the Commissioner’s participation in the XIV Global Forum for Migration and Development in Geneva.

Sustainable migration solutions and the ways to attain them in Serbia were one of the key topics with the Serbian Commissioner for Refugees and Migration. Commitment to further strengthen cooperation to address smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings, to increase access to legal pathways for migrants in protracted transit situation, and to working towards a holistic return management approach have been reaffirmed.

Three-decade long cooperation between IOM Serbia and the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration is reflected in a strong and impactful programmatic partnership on sustainable migration governance. As focus is shifting from mixed migration flows to facilitation of regular pathways, IOM is fully committed to supporting the Serbian Government in creating regular pathways for migrants in protracted situations in the country, including the highly prioritized labor migration.

The recently signed MoU between IOM Serbia and the Commissariat also signals the scale and depth of this partnership, which matured to tackle the upcoming challenges.

Commissioner Stanisavljevic expressed gratitude for the continuous support of IOM Serbia which is based on mutual trust and understanding. The Commissioner informed of the Commissariat’s activities, highlighting the outstanding cooperation with IOM Serbia in conveying that migration is a driver of opportunity and development, and that the entire migration management endeavor should reflect this important message.

The XIV Global Forum for Migration and Development featured a series of thematic workshops with a focus on “Climate and Human Mobility.” Spanning the alarming environmental concerns while accounting for cultural specificities of migration, inclusive approach to enhancing opportunities for safe and orderly human mobility was discussed while readily facing the challenges thereof.