In July 2002, the Committee of Interior of the Belgian Senate with the Security Committee of the Duma of the Russian Federation have adopted and ratified an agreement on cooperation in migration matters. The aim of the agreement is to facilitate the convergence of the Belgian and Russian legislation on migration issues and improve migration management between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Ms Anne-Marie Lizin, President of the Committee of Interior of the Belgian Senate at the time of signature and Ms Alexandre Gourov, President of the Security Committee of the Duma of the Russian Federation. Both parties have acknowledged that migration is a global phenomenon; an issue of major importance for the next decade and more cooperation is needed on a bilateral and multilateral level. The agreement foresees a common exchange of socioeconomic and political information and statistics on illegal migration between the two countries in order to create a common basis for continuous dialogue and identify preventive actions on future challenges especially in the area of combating international crime and terrorism. IOM, under Article 11 of this agreement, is invited as the leading organization on migration issues to work along with governments and multilateral institutions in drafting a migration management system.
The signature and ratification process has taken place under the presence of the Regional Representative of IOM to the European Union, Peter von Bethlenfalvy, the distinguished members of the Belgian Senate and the Russian DUMA.
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