The Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), Amb. Sergio Piazzi and the Director General of the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Dr Michael Spindelegger, signed a bilateral cooperation agreement on 13 June 2017, during a ceremony held at the Headquarters of PAM in Malta. Dr. Spindelegger is former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance and vice Chancellor of Austria.
The agreement sets out areas of future collaboration between PAM and ICMPD. In view of the potential benefits resulting from mutual cooperation in terms of the increased impact and effectiveness of their respective mandates and objectives and desiring to develop a mutually beneficial cooperation by creating synergies in areas of common interest, PAM and ICMPD will develop synergies on activities relating to migration governance in areas such as irregular migration, human rights and international protection, human trafficking, development, as well as legal migration and integration.
The PAM Secretary General and the ICMPD Director General seized the opportunity to discuss a number of issues of common interest, in particular the need to manage the various types of migrations and how to obtain the support of regional and international political leaders. PAM Secretary General highlighted the importance of associating the African leadership to the ongoing discussions and projects, as well as the need for Europe to act effectively and coherently on a unprecedented phenomenon of which, at present, only the tip of the iceberg is visible. Dr. Spindelegger and Amb. Piazzi also decided to meet again in Vienna to discuss concrete elements relative to the implementation of the agreement.
They agreed that the involvement of MPs in the debate on how to deal with various push and pull factors, in particular economic development, environment, population dynamics and how migration facts are being presented to the wider public, can serve as a useful framework for future joint activities.
PAM’s Secretary General also proposed to have ICMPD contribute its expertise to events organized by the Assembly where the question of migration will be an underlying factor, such as the joint PAM/WTO conference in October and the forthcoming MEDCOP 2017 next November.
Amb. Piazzi further suggested the organization of a joint PAM/ICMPD event in Malta for MPs from the Mediterranean and the Central European States, together with senior officials responsible for the implementation of national migration policies.
The discussions and the signing ceremony took place in the presence of ICMPD’s newly appointed Director for the Mediterranean, Mr Julien Simon, and PAM’s Senior Adviser and Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Vienna, Amb. Peter Schatzer.