IOM Director General Brunson McKinley will be attending a two-day
regional workshop in Mauritius during an official visit to the
island this week.

The 14th regional workshop of the Migration Dialogue for
Southern Africa (MIDSA) to take place between 11-13th October and
organized by IOM and the Southern African Migration Project (SAMP),
brings together 15 governments from the region for informal
discussions and problem solving on migration related issues.

The focus of this gathering, expected to involve about 70
participants, is on irregular migration, including human
trafficking and smuggling to, through and from Southern Africa.

Representatives from the Secretariat of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), the African Union, UNODC and UNHCR
and other organizations will also be attending.

MIDSA, a process created six years ago to facilitate
co-operation among governments and contribute to regional migration
management by fostering the understanding of migration phenomena
and strengthening regional institutional capacities, will include
representatives from other regional consultative processes on
migration in the Americas, Northern Africa and Asia with the idea
of fostering inter-regional links.

In addition to attending the workshop funded by the US State
Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM),
McKinley will also meet Mauritius’ Prime Minister, ministers
and other senior official for talks. Mauritius joined IOM as a
member state in June this year.

For further information, please contact:

Karen Blackman

IOM Pretoria

Tel.: +27 12 3421120

E-mail "mailto:kblackman@iom.int">kblackman@iom.int