On 16 to 17 March the IOM Director General, Mr. William Lacy Swing,
visited Sweden and Norway to meet with interlocutors from two of
the biggest donor countries to IOM's operational portfolio
worldwide. During the dense two-day visit, Mr. Swing was
accompanied by IOM's Regional Representative for the Nordic and
Baltic States, Mr. Thomas Lothar Weiss.

In Stockholm, the Director General held meetings with the
Minister for International Development Cooperation, Ms. Gunilla
Carlsson, and the Deputy Director General of the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Mr. Magnus
Lindell, to discuss humanitarian affairs and the generous Swedish
support to IOM in this field.

At the Governmental agency's headquarters, Director General
Swing signed a cooperation agreement with SIDA, testifying to the
solid partnership between both agencies. IOM Director General Swing
also met with State Secretary Ms. Minna Ljunggren of the Ministry
of Justice to exchange views on migration matters during the
upcoming Swedish EU-Presidency. In a meeting with the Director
General of the Swedish Migration Board, Mr. Dan Eliasson, ways to
expand the successful cooperation on resettlement and voluntary
return issues were discussed.

During his visit to Oslo, the IOM Director General met with the
State Secretary for the Ministry for Labour and Social Inclusion,
Ms. Rieber-Mohn to discuss IOM's voluntary return and reintegration
programmes and policies.

Director General Swing also met with the State Secretary for the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Raymund Johnsen, representatives
of key Norwegian NGOs, as well as the Director General of the
Norwegian Development Aid Agency (NORAD), Mr. Poul
Engberg-Pedersen. The topics of discussion included human
trafficking and the development dimension of migration. The
Director General's day in Oslo also included a visit to the
Directorate of Integration and Diversity and the Directorate of
Immigration. From the viewpoint of IOM staff, the highlight of the
Director General's visit was his meeting with the IOM Oslo
team.