On 31 May 2021, IOM Azerbaijan organized an online coordination meeting devoted to the update of work under UN Migration Network Azerbaijan (UNNM) and discussions on interlinkage of UNNM work with the implementation of UNSDCF (2021-2025).

Representatives of local UN agencies, diplomatic representations of foreign states operating in the country, as well as responsible employees of the relevant authorities, NGOs, academia attended the meeting.

The event began with the official opening session where the participants were welcomed by Mr. Ghulam Isaczai, the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Mr. Vladimir Gjorgjiev, Chief of IOM Azerbaijan, and Mr. Vusal Huseynov, Chief of State Migration Service.

In his speech Mr. Gulam Isaczai highlighted the importance of cooperation among partner organizations dealing with migration issues in Azerbaijan to promote effective migration management and governance, all the while supporting mechanisms to advance the protection of the rights and well-being of migrants and communities in a coherent, holistic manner.

Noted the achievements of Azerbaijan over the past year such as accession to the membership of the Steering Group of the Global Forum on Migration and Development and the reporting provided by the Government to the Global Compact on Migration Mr. Vladimir Gjorgjiev, expressed confidence that activities within this network will contribute to further significant achievements of Azerbaijan in the field of migration management at both national, regional and global levels. The UNNM interlinks the priority areas provided in the UNSDCF 2021-2025 with the GCM objectives, as well as align them with the objectives set forth in the Terms of Reference of the Network and propose activity plan in compliance with these objectives and will accelerate the implementation of the SDGs.

Mentioning that Azerbaijan is among the first countries to develop its National UN Network on Migration, Mr. Vusal Huseynov expressed his belief that this meeting can be a platform for new ideas and initiatives to contributing to effective migration management in Azerbaijan.

Following the opening remarks, participants were informed of UNNM updates on passed activities, interlinking the existing frameworks related to migration management, Progress Plan, the list of synergies and initiative to interlink the UNSDCF and UNNM in Azerbaijan, standing position of UN Country Mission - the migration pooled fund (Migration MPTF) and other collaborative initiatives, and then detailed discussions on issues related to the UN Network on Migration in Azerbaijan were conducted.