IOM concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the League of Arab States (LAS) in December 2000. Within this framework, the Population Research Unit of the League of Arab States (PRU – LAS) and IOM Cairo initiated the joint organisation of a regional conference to address the need for renewed information exchange and policy discussion on Arab migration issues, in the context of evolving international relations influenced by the globalisation process.
The conference, entitled “Arab Migration in a Globalized World”, was held in Cairo in September 2004 at the League of Arab States. The conference's aim was to provide a forum for Arab decision makers and international experts to discuss their priorities for the formulation of national policies with regard to migration issues in general and the geographical mobility of human resources in particular, at the national as well as the regional level. Participants from the region were invited to contribute to a dialogue and debate for improved understanding, consensus and commitment on Arab migration processes and their policy implications.