Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.24
By Sabina Ahmadova - Trend:
The opening ceremony of the project "Strengthening the potential of migration and border control in Azerbaijan", implemented by the European Union mission in Azerbaijan and the International Organization for Migration, took place Oct.22.
The opening ceremony was attended by the head of the EU Delegation in Azerbaijan Malena Mard, IOM Regional Director for Eastern, South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia Renate Held, deputy head of the State Migration Service (SMS) of Azerbaijan Parviz Musayev, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Population of Azerbaijan Metin Kerimli and Head of the Department on Humanitarian and Social Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Marat Kangarlinski.
Parviz Musayev said in his speech that the goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of government agencies. Deputy Chief said that the EU and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on visa facilitation and readmission.
Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Azerbaijan Metin Kerimli said that some 232 million immigrants live all over the world, which amounts to 2.2 percent of the total population. "There are mainly labor immigrants among them," Kerimli said.
Kerimli said that Azerbaijan prefers international cooperation in the settlement of the migration process, and has already signed about 15 agreements on international cooperation with Switzerland, Germany and other countries.
Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Malena Mard said that Azerbaijan is an important partner of the EU in the area of migration. She said that the purpose of the project is to strengthen the migration and border control, the fight against human trafficking, the implementation of agreements on visa facilitation and readmission, as well as the creation of useful mechanisms in migration management.
IOM Regional Director Renate Held said that the Azerbaijani government has tightened the fight against human trafficking. "Migration affects the economy and culture of the countries, so this area should be properly regulated," the director said.