BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 17
By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:
Turkmenistan and International Organization for Migration (IOM) are discussing co-funding agreement with the Government of Turkmenistan, IOM told Trend.
“Concluding this agreement will take cooperation between the parties to the next level. IOM also strives to maintain synergies with other UN Agencies’ projects to synchronize its efforts and attain maximum impact,” said IOM.
Overall, IOM said, that the sides are discussing new projects all the time.
The parties keep engagement on multiple levels, including constant ongoing consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Migration Service of Turkmenistan, other ministries and agencies of Turkmenistan and Office of IOM in Turkmenistan.
IOM is committed to continue cooperating with Turkmenistan within its current arrangements and exploring new areas of cooperation. There are promising areas that could expand the cooperation between the sides. These include regional processes on migration, like Almaty Process, more active engagement in such areas as migration and health, labor migration, migration statistics and analysis, and many others.
“We try to react swiftly to the changing needs and trends as well as be proactive and anticipate the future trends,” added IOM.
As earlier IOM told Trend, the organization is a primary partner of the Government of Turkmenistan, helping the country to implement the National Action Plan on counter-trafficking (NAP on CT).
In particular, IOM assisted developing both NAP on CT from 2016 through 2018, and NAP on CT from 2020 through 2022, the representative said.
“Within the first NAP, Turkmenistan has developed the legal basis of the National Referral Mechanism for the Victims of Trafficking,” noted the representative, adding that 2016 Turkmenistan approved national Law on Combatting Trafficking and criminalized trafficking in the Criminal Code and other legal acts of Turkmenistan.
In addition, IOM supports two hotlines and one shelter in the country that focus on the issues of migration and trafficking, added the representative.
Besides, IOM is involved in implementation of the Joint Workplan between UN and Turkmenistan’s Interministerial Commission on Treaty Bodies and International Humanitarian Law.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
