A two-day conference to promote better
cooperation and synergies between migration and development actors
will take place on 15-16 March in the Belgian capital,
Brussels.

The conference, organized by IOM, the Belgian
government, the European Commission and the World Bank, will bring
together government representatives from countries of origin,
transit and destination, policymakers, members of various diasporas
and representatives of competent international organizations to
achieve greater coherence between migration and development.

The conference will outline how migration
policies and migrant communities can contribute to the development
of countries of origin and how development policies can contribute
to finding a solution to the root causes of migration.

Conference themes include migration and the
Millennium Development Goals: facts and myths, migrants'
contributions to countries of origin through remittances,
investments, business opportunities and a transfer of skills and
knowledge.

The conference will be opened by the Belgian
Minister for Development Cooperation, Armand De Decker, and by IOM
Director General, Brunson McKinley. The conference closing remarks
will take place in the presence of His Majesty, King Albert II,
King of the Belgians.

For more information, please contact:

Nina Salden

IOM Brussels

Tel +322 282 45 71

E-mail: "mailto:nsalden@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">nsalden@iom.int

Or visit the conference website: "paragraph-link-underlined" href=
"http://www.belgium.iom.int/InternationalConference/index.htm"
target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.belgium.iom.int/InternationalConference/index.htm