DHAKA: The Steering Group of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) has unanimously accepted Bangladesh’s bid to Chair the GFMD in 2016 during a meeting at the Steering Group of the Forum held in Geneva.
Bangladesh delegation at the meeting was led by Shahidul Haque, Foreign Secretary. Shameem Ahsan, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN in Geneva also participated during the meeting.
The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) is an initiative of the United Nations Member States to address the migration and development inter-linkages.
The process brings about the international dialogue on the growing importance of the linkages between migration and development. The first session of the GFMD was held in 2007. Since the beginning of the Forum, Bangladesh has been actively participating in the process.
Bangladesh delegation actively pursued our bid to Chair the Forum in 2016 through intense lobbying with the members of the Steering Group of the Forum. The Steering Group is composed of 30 members. During the Steering Group meeting, Canada strongly supported Bangladesh’s bid setting the tone of the Group in favourable terms.
USA, the Netherlands, Australia, India, Tunisia, Mexico, Mauritius and the Philippines also supported Bangladesh’s bid and congratulated Bangladesh for becoming the Chair to host the 9th Global Forum on Migration and Development in 2016.
While thanking the Steering Group members for the trust entrusted upon Bangladesh, the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Shahidul Haque mentioned that Bangladesh would try its best to uphold the trust bestowed upon the country by the Steering group members by taking the Forum to a new height during its chairmanship. He assured that Bangladesh would place the issue of migration and development at its due place in the post-2015 Development Agenda.
Foreign Ministry has been actively contributing to the global negotiations to ensure that the issue of migration is given due priority in the post-2015 Development Agenda.
The acceptance by the international community of Bangladesh’s bid to Chair the Global Forum on Migration and Development in 2016 is a clear demonstration of the international community’s recognition to Bangladesh’s leadership in the international discourse of migration.
** Bangladesh to host 9th GFMD meeting
BDST: 1542 HRS, OCT 22, 2014
