News

By Md. Shahidul Haque, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh and Chair-in-Office of the GFMD 2016

DHAKA – We live in a rapidly evolving, hyper-connected world, where goods, capital, and people are more mobile than ever before. But, whereas countries have shown a willingness to cooperate on exchanging goods and capital, the international community has shown little appetite for improving how it governs human mobility.

After the wide-scale persecution and displacement of people in World War II, world leaders took the bold step of crafting the ...Read more

The New York Declaration that followed the 19^th September Summit was an important milestone in the future of governance of international migration, in a context marked by  mixed flows of movements, an unprecedented scale of large movement refugees and migrants, dramatic images and fear-driven rhetoric. How can member states design a Global Compact to facilitate mobility which will be both deliverable and balanced?  What are the possible commitments by...Read more

On 20 and 21 October, the final Preparatory Meetings of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) under the Bangladesh Chairmanship were held in Geneva, led by H.E. Ambassador Shahidul Haque, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. These meetings were aimed at preparing the Ninth GFMD Summit to be held in Dhaka on 10-12 December 2016 under the overarching theme, “Migration that Works for Sustainable Development for All: Towards a Transformative Migration Agenda.”

The Ninth GFMD...Read more

The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, in its capacity as Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) 2016, has extended the invitation to all States that are Members and Observers of the United Nations, and other GFMD Observers to the Ninth GFMD Summit Meeting to be held on 10-12 December 2016 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Her Excellency, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will open the Ninth GFMD Summit on 10 December in the...Read more

On the road to international migration governance

In accordance with the work plan of the 2016 Chair-in-Office of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), the third and final thematic workshop on “Migration for Peace, Stability and Growth” was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on July 19, at the margins of the fourth High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). 

In the heatwave so particular for the Big Apple in...Read more

2nd Preparatory Meetings in Geneva (17-19 May 2016)

There was a generally engaging tone when policy makers and diplomats from member states, prominent speakers and representatives from international organizations and from the civil society gathered for the 2nd round of preparatory meetings of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) 2016 in Geneva on May 17-19. In a period marked by pressing migrants and refugees’ issues, the Bangladesh GFMD Chair convened a series of meetings to bring member states up to speed with the...Read more

On 4 February, Ambassador Md. Shahidul Haque, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, GFMD 2016 Chair-in- Office, led the first meeting of the Friends of the Forum (FOF) in Geneva, in preparation for the 9th GFMD Summit to be held in Dhaka on 10-12 December 2016. As 2016 marks the first year after the adoption of the Agenda, the Bangladesh GFMD Chairmanship will be organized under the overarching theme “Migration that works for Sustainable Development of All: Towards a Transformative Migration Agenda.”

Ambassador Haque called...Read more

On 21-22 January, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), led by H.E., Ambassador Shahidul Haque, kicked off the 2016 Chairmanship of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) by organizing different consultations with main stakeholders and organizing a public seminar on migration and development in Dhaka.

Mr. Peter Sutherland, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for International Migration (SRSG), was guest of honor during a joint Ministerial breakfast meeting on 21 January with Hon. Foreign Minister, Mr. Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, M.P., and Hon....Read more