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Malawi, Mozambique establish first-ever Cross Border Forum
9:45 CAT | 14 Sep 2017
Malawi State House (File photo) / Cordial relationship: Malawi President Arthur Peter Mutharika (R) in a previous meeting with President Filipe Nyusi
Malawi and Mozambique have established a first ever Cross Border Coordination Forum through which migration issues involving the two governments will be discussed.
On top of enhancing cooperation between the two countries, the forum also seeks to strengthen coordination between Malawi and Mozambique on prevention, investigation and prosecution of trafficking committed against people with albinism.
Speaking when he officially opened the forum on Wednesday in Mwanza, Chief Director in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Kennedy Nkhoma, said international migratory movements in Africa have become more complex such that countries and individuals are now facing more challenges.
“For government, these movements raise questions concerning their independent right and it also poses a threat to national security. For individuals, the movements subject people to abuse, physical violence, detention and even loss of life,” he said.
Nkhoma said the formation of the forum would help the two countries come up with solutions to the challenges that arise due to mixed and irregular migration flows.
He urged members of the forum to develop an Action Plan for cross border cooperation that would guide and benefit the people of the two countries.
Lastly, he thanked the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for facilitating the creation of the forum.
Commenting on the development, Mpiko Nkomo, a representative IOM – Malawi Head Office said Malawi and Mozambique joined IOM in 2013 and 2011 respectively and the two countries have collectively been considered as countries of origin, transit and destination thereby both experience similar challenges in managing migrants.
He added that the formation of the forum by the two governments demonstrates their commitment to the protection of refugees and migrants since both Malawi and Mozambique are party to the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants.
He said that there are over 244 million international migrants globally out of which 150 million are working migrants, 25 million cross boarder migrants and 40 million internal migrants.
IOM is a UN agency that was founded in 1951 to promote humane and orderly migration and it has 168 member states.
Source: The Nyasa Times
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