High-level delegates from Bangladesh, Iraq and Pakistan, along with Türkiye and Hungary, and the European Commission, are strengthening efforts for sustainable reintegration for returning migrants in the Silk Routes region. At the Thematic Working Group of Budapest Process countries last week, delegates and representatives called for reintegration efforts to be embedded in broader national development frameworks, and that these must target the structural and community-level drivers of migration that often reflect the challenges returnees face on their return.
The Working Group, co-chaired by the governments of Türkiye and Bangladesh in Istanbul, gathered over 70 delegates and migration experts from 28 countries and five international organisations. This also marks a significant step for the reintegration agenda of the Ministerial Declaration adopted at the 7th Budapest Process Ministerial Conference last November 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. Building on recent research and projects, the Working Group focused on the impact of current and emerging work in the Silk Routes for sustainable, rights-based reintegration.
Thematic panels featured government-led efforts in Iraq and Pakistan, and civil society engagement in the wider Silk Routes region. The NORAQ initiative also highlighted the coordinated support of the Nordic countries to national reintegration capacities and referral systems in Iraq. Pakistan shared insights on their evolving reintegration frameworks, linking national policy reforms with international development support. Organisations including BRAC, WELDO, ETTC, and Rwanga Foundation also discussed their vital role in profiling returnees, reaching communities, and ensuring reintegration is locally anchored and inclusive. The discussion was moderated by ICMPD’s newly appointed Head of the Budapest Process Secretariat, Marija Raus.
“Our shared vision with partners in this Working Group supports the operational, rights-based approaches in return and reintegration, particularly in the Silk Routes. The platform is fostering dialogue, facilitating knowledge exchange, and translating policy into action. Since its first meeting in 2023 the Working Group has made significant progress, including the endorsement of Budapest Process Roadmap on Return and Reintegration, signifying our collective commitment to effective, humane, and sustainable return,” said Fehmi Hacıoğlu, from Türkiye’s Ministry of Interior and Presidency of Migration Management, as Chair of the Budapest Process and Co-Chair of the Thematic Working Group.
For Bangladesh, Md Shahidul Islam Chowdhury, of the Ministry for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and as Co-Chair of the Working Group, also said: “Migration is a shared challenge that demands collective, human-centric and rights-based responses. Bangladesh is fully aligned with the priorities outlined in the recent Ministerial Declaration and its Call for Action 2025-2030, which emphasises preventing irregular migration, strengthening legal migration pathways, and enhancing cooperation on return and reintegration, addressing route causes and supporting reintegration while combating discrimination, racism and xenophobia. We are honoured to co-chair this Working Group with Türkiye; and we highly value the Budapest Process as the crucial platform for inter-regional dialogue and cooperation on migration governance, particularly in the Silk Routes Region.”
Participants also reflected on the growing role of private sector partnerships and engaging diaspora to enable circular and voluntary return pathways. They also discussed technology, including the potential of AI, in tailoring reintegration services, while ensuring privacy and ethical safeguards.
“The EU continues to play a very important role in supporting sustainable reintegration of returnees. As we underlined in the Call for Action at the Ministerial Conference last November, it is key to reinforce the ownership and capacities of countries of return to support sustainable reintegration of returnees. The EU can support this through development projects with a view to building synergies with existing government programmes in countries of return,” said Mr Geoffrey Devin from the Migration and Home Affairs at the European Commission.
“Migration is a highly complex phenomenon. Various circumstances in transit or destination countries may require migrants to return to their home countries and would need support to reintegrate. Return and Reintegration have long been priority areas of the Budapest Process, and are embedded in its Ministerial Declarations. At last year’s Ministerial Conference which we had the honour of hosting, we adopted the Ministerial Declaration that once again reaffirmed return and reintegration as strategic priorities for the Budapest Process countries – where services need to support their reintegration,” said Mr Laszlo Balasz from the National Directorate General for Aliens Policing at the Ministry of Interior, on behalf of Hungary, as Budapest Process Co-Chair.
The plenary session concluded that no one-size-fits-all solution exists; that reintegration pathways must be context-specific. The session identified future priorities for the Working Group, including a call to align reintegration programmes with sectoral investments, and to mainstream the returnees’ needs into policies in education, employment, and social protection. The Working Group also underlined the importance of research in supporting this approach, to tailor initiatives to national contexts, measure impact, and guide policy development across the Silk Routes region.
Tiba Khaleel Ibrahim Al Shakarchi, of ICMPD's Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in Baghdad Iraq, discussing post-arrival assistance and referral services available to support sustainable reintegration of returnees.