IOM and the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam this week hosted Viet Nam’s first major conference on international migration in Hanoi. 

The conference, which was part of a broader European Union co-funded IOM project to create a Migration Profile of Viet Nam and to strengthen migration data management to assist Vietnamese policymakers, attracted over 120 academics and migration experts from Viet Nam, Asia, Australia, and Europe, UN sister agencies, and representatives of countries that have developed Migration Profiles or are planning to do so. 

Migration Profiles are statistical reports based on a standardized template. They bring together existing migration-related information from different sources in a structured manner, including a range of indicators and policy-relevant information. 
While Migration Profiles elaborated with IOM assistance exist for 32 countries in Europe, Africa, and Latin America, the Viet Nam Migration Profile, which is due to be completed by yearend, will be, together with an upcoming Migration Profile of South Korea, the first ones in Asia. 

Conference participants discussed various aspects of Vietnamese migration, including the role of the 4 million-strong Vietnamese diaspora world-wide, prospects for increased labour migration opportunities for Vietnamese citizens, emerging new forms of circular migration and mobility in Asia, the development impact of remittances, and the growth of irregular migration, including the smuggling and trafficking in migrants. 

"Viet Nam is the world’s 13th most populous country and is experiencing rapid socio-economic development that is bringing with it increased mobility, both inside the country and abroad. As a result, migration management is rapidly becoming a priority for policy makers," says IOM Viet Nam Chief of Mission Florian Forster. 

IOM is an active participant in the One UN Initiative in Vietnam, which aims to combine and synthesize the work of the resident UN organizations within a single planning framework to better support Viet Nam. As the leading intergovernmental agency working in the area of migration, IOM in Viet Nam works closely with the government, notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, as well as with mass organizations and civil society partners. 

For more information, please contact Florian Forster at IOM Hanoi.
Email: fforster@iom.int 
Tel: +84 9 03450196 
+84 9 03450196