Baku - On 29 October 2020, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the support of the Government of Azerbaijan held the first Steering Committee Meeting (SCM) of the project titled “Strengthening Readmission Management in Azerbaijan” funded by the European Union (EU).

Representatives of IOM Azerbaijan, IOM Regional Office in Brussels, EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, State Migration Service (SMS) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan (MFA), as well as IOM technical experts on the electronic Readmission Case Management System (RCMS) participated in the meeting.

Welcoming the participants, Chief of Mission of IOM Azerbaijan Mr Vladimir Gjorgjiev, Head of SMS Mr Vusal Huseynov, Officer of EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Ms Maryam Haji-Ismayilova and Head of Consular Department of MFA Mr Emil Safarov highlighted the fruitful cooperation among IOM and the State institutions and the importance of this project.

The SCM provided IOM with the opportunity to update the project partners on the progress made in terms of the project implementation since its commencement on 1 May 2020. It is worthy to note that the progress made was achieved despite the project implementation taking place in a highly complex environment due to COVID-19, and the volatile security situation.

The meeting continued with the presentations of Project Officer Ms. Mariam Mahmoud from IOM Regional Office in Brussels on the EURCAP Facility, followed with presentation from IOM Azerbaijan Project Officer Ms. Yuliya Ryzhykh on the project implementation progress and future planning, and IOM RCMS expert Dr Chathura De Silva on the Model RCMS and its deployment roadmap for Azerbaijan.

Following the presentations, participants engaged in the questions and answers session about the Model RCMS, its technical features and actions to undertake for deployment of the Model RCMS in Azerbaijan.

Mr Vladimir Gjorgjiev highlighted the subsequent steps for the Model RCMS deployment, functioning of the project working group(s) and a date for the next SCM. Steering Committee members welcomed the proposed steps and endorsed the project plans. Mr Gjorgjiev thanked everyone for the excellent discussion, positive implementation of the project and encouraged IOM, SMS, MFA and EU Delegation to continue to develop the effective cooperation.

The 18-month project “Strengthening Readmission Management in Azerbaijan” funded by the European Union aims to achieve its objective through two prioritized pathways: (i) introduction and operationalization of the electronic Readmission Case Management System, and (ii) enhancement of the institutional capacities on readmission and data management.

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