ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab met with HE Mr Vincenzo Mascioli, State Secretary for Migration of Switzerland on 13 January 2026. The meeting reaffirmed the strong partnership with Switzerland, a founding ICMPD Member State and long-standing strategic partner, and provided an opportunity to exchange views on key migration challenges in Europe and beyond. Discussions focused on Switzerland’s migration priorities and ICMPD’s strategic direction for 2026; and key areas of cooperation including Ukraine, the expansion of the Migration Resource Centres, and the Swiss Chairmanship of the Rabat Process in 2026.
The meeting with Mr Mascioli was the first of the Director General’s institutional consultations with ICMPD Member States since assuming office this month. The meeting marked the start of a series of bilateral engagements aimed at reaffirming strategic dialogue, Member State ownership and institutional continuity, while gaining a first-hand understanding of Member States priorities for 2026.
The Director General welcomed Switzerland’s upcoming Chairmanship of the Rabat Process, one of the longest-running and one of the largest migration dialogues in the world. Switzerland will be the first European non-EU state to chair the Rabat Process, a key milestone for migration cooperation, particularly as the dialogue will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Switzerland has been leading a partnership with The Gambia and the ICRC in the Network of National Focal Points for Missing Migrants, already engaging 23 partner countries. This initiative is a flagship achievement of the Rabat Process, and a concrete example of translating dialogue into action. At the upcoming Senior Officials Meeting in Abuja, Switzerland will present its vision and thematic programme to Rabat Process partner countries, with high interest in pursuing cooperation on various migration themes.
At the outset of the meeting, the Director General expressed her and ICMPD’s condolences to Switzerland for the loss of so many young lives from the recent tragedy in Crans-Montana.
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MMD: Migration and Mobility Dialogue Support Programme
Algeria / Angola / Austria / Belgium / Benin / Bulgaria / Burkina Faso / Burundi / Cabo Verde / Cameroon / Central African Republic / Chad / Congo (Republic of) / Comoros / Croatia / Congo (Democratic Republic of) / Cyprus / Czechia / Denmark / Djibouti / Egypt / Eritrea / Estonia / Ethiopia / Equatorial Guinea / Finland / France / Gabon / Gambia / Ghana / Germany / Greece / Guinea / Guinea-Bissau / Hungary / Ireland / Italy / Kenya / Côte d'Ivoire / Latvia / Liberia / Libya / Lithuania / Luxembourg / Mali / Madagascar / Malta / Mauritania / Morocco / Netherlands / Niger / Nigeria / Norway / Poland / Portugal / Romania / Sao Tome and Principe / Senegal / Sierra Leone / Slovakia / Slovenia / Somalia / South Sudan / South Africa / Spain / Sudan / Sweden / Switzerland / Togo / Tanzania (United Republic of) / Tunisia / Uganda
Irregular migration / Legal and labour mobility / Trafficking in Human Beings / Migration and development / Dialogues / Return, readmission and reintegration
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