In December 2020, ICMPD within the framework of the "Strategic and institutional management of migration in Libya" project held fruitful meetings in Tripoli with Mr Al-Shaibani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Directors for European Affairs, International Organisations and International Cooperation; the Ministry of Labour; the Prime Minister’s Office; and the National Team for Border Security and Management.
Upon arrival to Tripoli, the ICMPD Libya team met with Dr Abdunnasser Segayer, Chair of the National Team for Border Security and Management (NTBSM), to review the status of the common work on the White Paper on Border Security and Management Reform, a Contingency Planning Model for Border Management in Libya, and the Migration Governance Curriculum. The partners complimented the continuous excellent cooperation.
A series of other meetings followed. At the Ministry of Labour, ICMPD’s technical assistance to issues like the development of a national migration strategy and policy, migration governance at the local level, and labour migration policies, was discussed with Mr Hassan Salem Almeselati, Advisor to the Minister; Mr Abdulaziz Ali Joha, Director of International Cooperation; and Mr Mohamed Barota, Director of the Employment Department.
At the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meetings were held with Ambassador Dhan, Director of the European Affairs Department; Ambassador Eddeb, Director of the International Cooperation Department; and Ambassador Elqofah, Acting Director of the International Organisations Department. The Ministry expressed its interest to further the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement between Libya and ICMPD, signed in 2019, and to benefit from ICMPD’s expertise for the set-up of a migration governance system and a national strategy on migration.
The overall inter-institutional coordination framework and ICMPD’s contribution to improve it were at the centre of discussions with Dr Thuraiya Elwerfalli, Director of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Department at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Finally, the mission team met with Mr Mohamed Al-Shaibani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior that works on migration, to discuss which migration governance institutional and legislative reform processes ICMPD could potentially support.
Furthermore, the ICMPD mission was also welcomed by EU partners, including Mr Peter-Bastian Halberg, Acting Head of Mission of the EU Border Assistance Mission to Libya (EUBAM), Mr Luis Puig Saenz, Head of EUBAM Border Management and Migration Unit, as well as Ms Elke Leidel, Head of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
ICMPD Project Coordinator, Marcello Giordani, highlighted that "ICMPD is fully committed to supporting the Libyan institutions and our expertise and capacities on addressing migration challenges are at Libya’s disposal. ICMPD looks forward to continuing the important work with its Libyan and EU counterparts."
This mission was organised within the framework of the EU-funded "Strategic and Institutional Management of Migration in Libya" project, which is implemented by ICMPD in collaboration with the NTBSM. Its aim is to support the efforts to improve the management of migration flows and the conditions of migrants in Libya.