IOM and the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Viet Nam this week hosted Viet Nam's first major conference on
international migration in Hanoi.

The conference, which was part of a broader European Union
co-funded IOM project to create a Migration Profile of Viet Nam and
to strengthen migration data management to assist Vietnamese
policymakers, attracted over 120 academics and migration experts
from Viet Nam, Asia, Australia, and Europe, UN sister agencies, and
representatives of countries that have developed Migration Profiles
or are planning to do so. 

Migration Profiles are statistical reports based on a
standardized template. They bring together existing
migration-related information from different sources in a
structured manner, including a range of indicators and
policy-relevant information.

While Migration Profiles elaborated with IOM assistance exist
for 32 countries in Europe, Africa, and Latin America, the Viet Nam
Migration Profile, which is due to be completed by yearend, will
be, together with an upcoming Migration Profile of South Korea, the
first ones in Asia.

Conference participants discussed various aspects of Vietnamese
migration, including the role of the 4 million-strong Vietnamese
diaspora world-wide, prospects for increased labour migration
opportunities for Vietnamese citizens, emerging new forms of
circular migration and mobility in Asia, the development impact of
remittances, and the growth of irregular migration, including the
smuggling and trafficking in migrants.   

"Viet Nam is the world's 13th most populous country and is
experiencing rapid socio-economic development that is bringing with
it increased mobility, both inside the country and abroad. As a
result, migration management is rapidly becoming a priority for
policy makers," says IOM Viet Nam Chief of Mission Florian
Forster.

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, and the Ministry of Public
Security, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, as
well as with mass organizations and civil society partners.

For more information, please contact:

Florian Forster

IOM Hanoi

Tel: +84 9 03450196

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