On 25 April 2024, the Athens Thematic Meeting on the “External dimension of migration management - Tools for regular pathways” was held in Athens, Greece as a flagship event under the Greek chairmanship of ICMPD’s Steering Group in 2024.
The chairmanship programme of Greece under the theme “A holistic approach for balanced migration partnerships”, focuses on fostering mutually beneficial migration partnerships by advocating for a whole-of-route approach that encourages cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination.
The Athens Thematic Meeting stands out as one of Greece’s key initiatives aimed at facilitating high-level policy discussions. As a flagship event, its objective was to foster dialogue on current migration policy matters and the potential contribution of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum and promote collaboration with partner countries at both the national and European levels in migration and asylum. In addition, tools and frameworks for regular pathways were explored.
The meeting was opened by the Secretary General of Migration Policy of Greece, Patroklos Georgiadis and the Deputy Director General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Lukas Gehrke. In his remarks, Mr Gehrke highlighted the growing cooperation and partnerships that are aimed at improving EU migration strategies. “A collaborative approach not only aids in saving lives and supporting economic development but also ensures that migration policies are more coherent and effective across borders”.
A keynote address was delivered by Dimitris Kairidis, Minister of Migration and Asylum of Greece. In his speech, the Minister highlighted the global and European challenges when it comes to migration governance and addressed Greece’s enhanced cooperation with Türkiye. Furthermore, Minister Kairidis outlined Greece's management of migration pressures and also spoke on the national approach when it comes to legal labour migration.
Panel discussions and presentations held during the Athens Thematic Meeting covered a range of timely topics, including capacity building efforts in migration governance and key cooperation aspects to address regular and irregular migration. Marija Raus, ICMPD’s Head of Silk Routes region a.i. and Hugo Brady, Senior Strategic Advisor of ICMPD also participated in the panel discussions during the event.