On 10 September, the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Employment of Population of the Republic of Tajikistan informed ICMPD that the government gave its approval to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ICMPD. This was the positive news that ICMPD received at an online meeting with a high-level delegation from Tajikistan, headed by the Labour Minister Ms. Gurlu Jabborzoda.
The MOU will become the cornerstone of a deeper, more targeted cooperation and pave the way for the establishment of a Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The meeting also covered ICMPD’s further expert support in the development of strategic documents on productive employment as well as capacity-building activities of the Ministry of Labour of Tajikistan in catering for the needs of Tajik migrants during these challenging times created by the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
"In light of steady annual population growth, migration abroad is inevitable; however the migration processes should be well managed. The current global pandemic not only highlights the challenges we face in migration management, but also the opportunities" underlined Ms. Gulru Jabborzoda, the Labour Minister. "Therefore, the establishment of the Migrant Resource Centre will be a sustainable initiative that will focus on capacity-building and strengthening existing Ministry structures; hence we look forward to future cooperation with ICMPD".
A responsive, efficient and sustainable MRC is needed to improve migration governance and mobility. The MRC’s additional goals will be to reduce the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by migrants in living and working abroad by providing them with adequate, timely and reliable information and guidance on migration.
The Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be signed in the coming weeks. The Migrant Resource Centre is to be established under the framework of the "Improving Migration Management in the Silk Routes Countries" project, funded by the European Union.
More information on the Silk Routes Project is available here.
The Migration Profile of Tajikistan can be found here.