News

Budapest, 2-3 June 2014: Hungary, as the lead partner of the project ‛Support to the Silk Routes Partnership for Migration under the Budapest Process’, hosted the kick-off conference for the project from 2 to 3 June at the Ministry of Interior in Budapest. The three-year flagship project under the Budapest Process umbrella is funded by the European Union, co-funded by Bulgaria, Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey, and implemented by ICMPD.

Islamabad-Lahore, 19-23 May 2014: ICMPD, as the Budapest Process Secretariat, paid a visit at senior official’s level to Islamabad and Lahore, Pakistan this week (19 – 23 May 2014). The aim of the visit was for Director Martijn Pluim to meet with relevant stakeholders in the area of migration and identify together further cooperation opportunities.

With the adoption of the Istanbul Ministerial Declaration, the UK funded project Bridging Measures for Migration Management in the Silk Routes Region initiated the first steps towards its concrete implementation. Following a set of visits to all three countries to further concretise priorities and needs in the area of migration, the first pilot activities were implemented for Afghanistan (December 2013), Pakistan (January 2014) and Iraq (February 2014).

Migration Country Reports for Afghanistan and Pakistan are now available online from the Budapest Process website and i-Map Interactive Map on Migration. The Country Reports were prepared within the project "Fostering Cooperation in the Area of Migration with and in the Silk Routes Region”, implemented under the umbrella of the Budapest Process between September 2011 and November 2013. The reports aim at establishing a comprehensive knowledge base on the migration realities in Afghanistan and Pakistan to aid stakeholders understand the complex phenomenon of migration in these contexts, and its links to other policy areas at a national, regional and international level.

The implementation of the Silk Routes Partnership has been the main focus of the Budapest Process in the second half of 2013. In this context, the UK initiated the first follow up project (Bridging Measures) and organised a donor coordination meeting in July where key partners came together to discuss future cooperation frameworks in the Silk Routes Region.

Islamabad, 28-29 October 2013: The 4th Silk Routes Working Group Meeting is to be held jointly with the final intergovernmental conference of the Silk Routes I project. The meeting will take place at the end of October in Islamabad, Pakistan and will be the first meeting of Budapest Process participating countries since the establishment of A Silk Routes Partnership for Migration on 19 April 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Since the establishment of “A Silk Routes Partnership for Migration” on 19 April 2013 at the 5th Budapest Process Ministerial Conference in Istanbul, ICMPD, as the Budapest Process Secretariat, has been supporting participating countries in developing concrete follow-up actions to implement the Istanbul Ministerial Declaration.

Istanbul, 19 April 2013: The Istanbul Ministerial Declaration on a Silk Routes Partnership for Migration was adopted by the participating countries of the Budapest Process at the 5th Budapest Process Ministerial Conference on Friday, 19 April in Istanbul, Turkey. In addition to launching the declaration, the conference marked the 20th anniversary of the Budapest Process.

Budapest, 4-5 March 2013: Hosted by the Hungarian Ministry of Interior, the third out of four preparatory meetings, held on 4-5 March 2013 in Budapest, marked the final stage of several rounds of intensive discussions on the content of the Istanbul Ministerial Declaration.

Ankara, 10-11 December 2012: The Second Preparatory Meeting for the 5th Budapest Process Ministerial Conference “A Silk Routes Partnership for Migration” was held in Ankara, Turkey, on 10 - 11 December 2012. The meeting gathered 81 participants from 38 countries, the European Commission, as well as 7 agencies and international organisations.

Izmir, 27-28 September 2012: The first out of four preparatory meetings preceding the 5th Budapest Process Ministerial Conference “A Silk Routes Partnership for Migration” was held in Izmir, Turkey on 27 - 28 September 2012.

The Budapest Process recently issued the 'Communication on the Budapest Process Ministerial Conference: A Silk Routes Partnership for Migration' to announce the 5th Ministerial Conference in April 2013.

Tbilisi, 28-29 June 2012: The 3rd Meeting of the Budapest Process Working Group on the Silk Routes Region was held together with the 2nd Intergovernmental Meeting of the Project "Fostering Cooperation in the Area of Migration with and in the Silk Routes Region".