Beijing - IOM Director-General William Lacy Swing yesterday addressed European and Chinese stakeholders marking three years of the EU-China Dialogue on Migration and Mobility Support Programme (MMSP), a project funded by the European Partnership Instrument and implemented jointly by IOM and ILO.

The event brought together about 100 stakeholders from European diplomatic missions, Chinese official bodies, think-tanks and other IOM and ILO partner agencies.

Ambassador Swing commended the European Union and China’s commitment to the MMSP project, which brings together European and Chinese migration policy makers and practitioners to share best practices and experiences.   

He also congratulated China on the establishment of three new government entities – the National Immigration Administration, International Development Cooperation Agency and Ministry for Emergency Management. All of them are essential for the formulation good migration policies and effective migration management, he noted.

Christopher Wood, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to China, also spoke at the event. He emphasised that migration is an important element of the EU-China relations and outlined the successes achieved through the dialogue on migration and mobility.

During his visit to China, Ambassador Swing, who will step down as Director General of IOM later this year, also officially launched the IOM “WeChat APP”, which provides Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) to Chinese workers migrating to Europe. IOM is committed to ensuring that migrants are equipped with essential information to prepare for their journey before they leave China, and their integration once they arrive in their country of destination in Europe.

For further information please contact Etienne Micallef at IOM China. Email: emicallef@iom.int, Tel:+861059799695