A two-day Arab Regional Expert Meeting on Regular Migration for
Development jointly organized by the League of Arab States (LAS)
and IOM, in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower and
Migration and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), will open
in Cairo tomorrow.

The aim of the meeting is to develop a common Arab strategy for
the 2008 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) to be
held in Manila, 27-30 October. It will focus on the theme of
Roundtable 2 of the GFMD: Secure and Regular Migration Can Achieve
Stronger Development Impact.  

The theme will be addressed through the presentation of country
reports from the delegations of Arab League member countries and
the contributions of international and local experts. Two academic
research papers will also be presented.

Migration experts from the Arab region will present country
experiences and discuss topics likely to be raised at the GFMD,
including best practices to combat irregular migration, ways to
minimize the negative consequences of migration, and ways to
optimize its developmental impact in the Arab world. Participants
will also examine the role of Regional Consultative Processes in
migration management.

 

The meeting will also address the outcomes of the 2007 GFMD held in
Brussels and the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Meeting or Abu Dhabi
Dialogue, which took place in the United Arab Emirates on 21-22
January 2008.

The League of Arab States is a regional organization comprising
the 22 Arab States. IOM is an intergovernmental organization
comprising 125 Member States, 90 Observers including 16 States, and
74 global and regional organizations and NGOs.

For further information please contact:

Ahmed Sayed

LAS

Tel: +20 227 3543 06

E-mail: "mailto:migration@poplas.org">migration@poplas.org

or

Roberto Pitea

IOM Cairo

Tel: +20 227 3508 79

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