Bangladesh - Government leaders from 51 countries have converged in Bangladesh for a two-day consultation co-hosted by Bangladesh and Switzerland on future global trends in population dynamics.

IOM Director General William Lacy Swing is attending the meeting, which is part of a series of 11 UN thematic consultations organized globally, as part of a three-day visit to Bangladesh.
 
The global thematic consultation on population dynamics seeks to establish how population dynamics, including migration, will affect development challenges, and how a broad-based consensus should be addressed in the post-2015 development agenda that will succeed the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In addition to migration, the Bangladesh consultation will address ageing, youth issues and urbanization. The outcome document will reflect the contributions and inputs of governments, experts, the private sector, and stakeholders who contributed globally to e-consultations between November 2012 and February 2013.

It will aim to provide concrete and actionable recommendations on how to address and harness population dynamics in the post-2015 development agenda. It will also outline future work needed to formulate forward-looking development targets that are informed by population data and projections.

“We must recognize the linkages between sustainable development, urbanization, changing demography, changing economic activities and the demand for basic services. We must also foster partnership and collaboration for any post-2015 development efforts,” said Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni.

“Migration lies at the heart of population dynamics. It is one of the oldest poverty reduction strategies and has a significant impact on development goals, especially poverty alleviation, health and educational levels. Remittance flows to developing countries reached USD 406 billion in 2012 and continue to grow despite the economic downturn. This has a huge positive impact at the household, community and national level, including greater resilience in the face of natural disasters and economic shocks,” said Ambassador Swing.

During his visit to Bangladesh, Director General Swing will pay a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, who will hand over an award conferred on IOM by the Government of Bangladesh in recognition of IOM’s help in bringing home over 36,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers from Libya in 2011.

For more information please contact  

Asif Munier
IOM Bangladesh
Tel. +8802 9889765 Ext. 570
Email: munier@iom.int