Islamabad, 03 June 2020: ICMPD is delivering a digital training programme to officers of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan that will support the FIA’s Training Academy maintain its operational training in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic to combat trafficking in human beings, prevent irregular migration and efficiently manage Pakistan’s national borders.

14th May 2020: After two months of major restrictions on mobility in light of the declared Covid19 pandemic the Budapest Process hosted its first virtual meeting with selected countries. Representatives of 14 countries as well as the European Commission, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) discussed the immediate impacts of Covid19 on labour migration, and how to address them.

Budapest, 3-4 March 2020: The implementation of the Call for Action endorsed in December 2019 kicked off in 2020 with the first dialogue activity addressing Priority Goal 1 of the Call for Action. The Call for Action, which was adopted at the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Budapest Process provides the direction of activities for the next 5 years in six priority areas related to migration including Priority Goal 1 related to countering irregular migration. Experts on return and reintegration gathered for two days  in Budapest, hosted by the Co-Chair of the dialogue, Hungary. The meeting included a panel discussion amongst representatives from Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Pakistan, ERRIN, FRONTEX and the Bali Process. Break-out group discussions followed in three sessions focusing on structural constraints to return and reintegration.