ICMPD Director-General Michael Spindelegger joined heads of state and ministers at the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli, Libya on 17 July 2024. In a statement, Mr Spindelegger called for strengthened collaboration between Europe and Africa to address the complexities of irregular migration.

Mr Spindelegger joined officials from 28 countries, including European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Malta Prime Minister Robert Abela, Chad President Mohamed Déby, Tunisian Prime Minister Ahmed El Hachani, and the host of the event, Libyan Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah. Ministers of the Interior, Security, and Migration, along with senior officials specialised in migration affairs, representatives of UNHCR and IOM were also present at the Forum.

In a Final Statement, the officials and representatives of ministries and other international organisations who joined the Forum affirmed their “commitment to enhancing security cooperation to establish measures to strengthen border security, combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking, and reduce the flows of illegal migration.” The ministers also called for follow-up meetings to be organised, to discuss their findings, open new avenues for knowledge exchange, and reach sustainable solutions.

Among ICMPD’s initiatives in the region is the flagship “Training Institute on Migration Capacity Partnerships”, established with the support of Malta, Libya and Tunisia, to capacitate migration management for officials, practitioners and first responders in the region, including NGOs. Courses are certified in line with EU standards but are mainly held by trainers from MENA countries in the field and in local context and languages.