Dushanbe – Reliable and harmonized data are needed to tackle some of Central Asia’s key migration challenges and should be included in the future regional agenda on migration, according to government officials attending a regional consultative forum. 

Around 50 officials from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, as well as UN experts, came together in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe from 14-15 May, for the second technical experts meeting of the Almaty Process on Refugee Protection and International Migration, a regional consultative process founded in 2013. 

Key regional challenges discussed at the forum include providing healthcare services to migrants and refugees, brain drain due to emigration of youth and high-qualified workers, and border management. 

Representing IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, Carla Rojas Paz presented IOM’s Migration Data Portal and how it can be used in the field of migration management. The Portal features a dedicated section with more than 200 guidance materials and resources to support the production, quality and reliability of migration data.  

Cristina Tranca, Chief of Mission of IOM Tajikistan said, “The Almaty Process brings together migration professionals towards coordinated action for safer and orderly migration. At this meeting, IOM presented its Global Migration Data Portal and Migration Governance Indicators and informed on a new research initiative on youth migration from Central Asia.” 

Launched in 2017, IOM’s Global Migration Data Portal is designed to help policy makers, national statistics officers, journalists and the general public understand migration data. By making the evidence about migration issues accessible in one place and easy to understand, it contributes to a more informed public debate. 

The Almaty Process promotes sustained dialogue and exchange of information on migration issues and on refugee protection challenges in Central Asia and the wider region. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan are members of the Almaty Process, with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan holding observer status. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provide organizational, logistical and expert support. 

The Expert Group Meeting of the Almaty Process is organized in the framework of the IOM project “Asia Regional Migration Programme” and is funded by the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.  

For more information, please contact Stylia Kampani, Tel: +49 (0)30 278 778 16, Email: skampani@iom.int or Carla Rojas Paz at IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, Tel: +49 (0)30 278 778 26, Email: crojaspaz@iom.int