IOM and the Department of Overseas Labour (DoLAB) of Viet Nam's
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs have signed an
agreement to establish a Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) to promote
safe and sustainable labour migration from Viet Nam.

Financed by IOM's Development Fund, the project will assist
DoLAB with developing and delivering direct services to migrants
through the MRC with outreach and awareness-raising activities in
areas of high emigration.

Staff of DoLAB and the Vietnamese Women's Union will be trained
in providing integrated migrant support services and relevant
information to prospective, actual and returning labour migrants in
order to maximize the benefits and minimize the risk of
migration.

The Centre, which will be located on the premises of DoLAB in Ha
Noi, will receive additional funding from the Vietnamese
government.

"The establishment of the MRC marks a new stage in the close
relationship between the Vietnamese government and IOM," says
Florian G. Forster, IOM's Chief of Mission for Viet Nam. "After
assisting the Vietnamese government with the evacuation of 10,500
Vietnamese migrant workers from Libya in early 2011, IOM and DoLAB
have now embarked on a more strategic capacity building cooperation
to expand opportunities for labour migrants," he added.

The project will also foster the exchange of good practices in
providing comprehensive migrant support services between Viet Nam
and other Asian countries.

IOM is an active participant in the One UN Initiative in Viet
Nam, which aims to combine and synthesize the work of the resident
UN organizations within a single planning framework to better
support Viet Nam.

As the leading intergovernmental agency working in the area of
migration, IOM in Viet Nam works closely with the government,
notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public
Security, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, as
well as with mass organizations and civil society partners.

For further information, please contact:

Florian Forster

IOM Hanoi

Tel: +84 9 03450196

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