On 11 - 12 July 2019 the Regional Director of IOM's Regional Office for the EU, Norway and Switzerland, Mr. Ola Henrikson, visited Georgia to participate in the 16th Batumi International Conference Dedicated to 10th Anniversary of Eastern Partnership. During the visit in Georgia, several bilateral meetings were organized between IOM and the high-level officials from Governments of Georgia, Moldova and Belarus.

IOM has worked closely with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia in the past decades on a range of migration management priorities, including capacity building of consular department, support to processing visa applications, cooperation with third countries in return migration management, information campaigns to promote safe migration and prevent irregular migration and in the recent years the labour migration, migration and development and diaspora related issues. During a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Mr. David Zalkaliani and IOM's Regional Director of IOM's Regional Office for the EU, Norway and Switzerland, Mr. Ola Henrikson, IOM Georgia Chief of Mission, Ms. Sanja Celebic Lukovac, IOM Georgia National Programme Officer, Ms. Natia Kvistiani, the views were exchanged on visa liberalization and mobility as a key component of the Eastern Partnership. IOM and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia expressed their committment to continue close cooperation in the future.

Further, during the visit in Batumi, Mr. Henrikson and Ms. Celebic Lukovac met with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, Ms. Daniela Morari and the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Mr. Evgeniy Shestakov. IOM works closely with both countries in the fields of combatting trafficking in persons and integrated border management. 

The Batumi Conference presented a great opportunity for IOM Georgia and IOM's Regional Office for the EU, Norway and Switzerland representatives to express readiness to further extend cooperation with the Governments of Georgia, Belarus and Moldova and propose new areas for cooperation, such as migration and development, including diaspora engagement.