IOM's Liaison Office in China yesterday hosted a seminar for
European and Chinese officials working in migration management
under the framework of its "Capacity Building for Migration
Management in China" (CBMM) project.

Officials from six Chinese ministries with migration
responsibilities attended the event, which focused on identifying
future areas of China-Europe cooperation in the field of migration
management (migration policy, labour migration, and border
management) and the development of a framework to expand technical,
operational, and administrative cooperation between China and
European Union Member States.

The European delegation comprised 12 officials from the Italian
Ministry of Interior, the UK Border Agency, the French Police
International Technical Co-operation Delegation (SCTIP), the
Portuguese Border and Alien Service, the German Federal Office for
Migration and Refugees and the Federal Police, the Czech Republic
Ministry of Interior, and the Hungarian Ministry of Justice and Law
Enforcement.

The seminar marked the end of a week-long exchange visit
sponsored by the CBMM project to bring together Chinese and
European officials at both central and provincial levels to discuss
legal opportunities for migration from China to Europe and a
framework for combating irregular migration.

At the Chinese provincial level, the European officials met
foreign affairs, labour, public security and border control
authorities in Fujian province, traditionally one of China's main
emigration provinces. They heard first hand accounts of China's
migration management efforts on the ground and saw the impact of
information campaigns conducted under the project aimed at
discouraging irregular migration. 

The exchange visit allowed both sides to share their experience
and ideas on new ways to manage outward Chinese labour migration
and prevent irregular migration, while facilitating regular
migration of Chinese nationals to Europe. 

Counsellor QI Xiaoxia from the International Department of the
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaking at the introductory
meeting expressed gratitude to IOM on behalf of all of the
participating Ministries, said that the visit would "help European
and Chinese officials to further share their knowledge, learn from
each other's experiences, and establish sustainable ties between
administrations for the effective management of China-Europe
migration." 

"One of the major outcomes was that links and networks were
strengthened between relevant counterparts in China and Europe. The
strong interaction between Chinese and European colleagues
reaffirmed the importance of establishing partnerships to better
manage China to Europe migration," said IOM Beijing Chief of
Mission Thomas Sinkovits.

Since 2007 IOM and the International Labour Organization (ILO)
have been jointly implementing the CBMM project, which is mainly
funded by the European Commission under the AENEAS Programme, with
co-funding from the Italian Ministry of Interior and the UK Border
Agency. 

For further information, please contact:

Kieran Best

IOM Beijing

Tel +86 5979 9695 #203

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