Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 19 held a conference to review five years of implementing Vietnam’s plan for the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
The event was attended by about 100 delegates from ministries and 31 localities, and representatives of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Vietnam.
In her opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang stressed that Vietnam has consistently upheld a people-centered approach, considering the protection of migrants’ security, safety, and lawful rights and interests as a top priority in policy formulation and implementation. Noting that international migration is facing increasingly complex challenges, especially amid unpredictable regional and global developments, cybercrime, online fraud, and the rise of human trafficking for forced criminal activities, the Deputy Minister said that a more adaptive and innovative approach is needed. This should be based on closer inter-agency coordination and deeper international cooperation to reduce migrants’ vulnerabilities and address migration challenges more effectively.
At the conference, participants agreed that the implementation of the GCM action plan has brought about positive changes in promoting safe and regular migration, preventing irregular migration, combating cross-border human trafficking, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of migrants.
Commending Vietnam’s efforts, the IOM chief of mission suggested that the country consider registering as a “champion country” for GCM implementation at the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), scheduled to take place in May 2026 in New York.
Concluding the conference, Hang thanked ministries, agencies, and localities for their close coordination, as well as UN agencies, international organisations, and stakeholders for their active support in implementing the plan.
She highlighted several priorities for continued close cooperation in the time ahead, including improving policies and legislation to meet new-phase requirements; completing the development of a migration database; enhancing the quality of international cooperation; protecting the lawful rights and interests of vulnerable groups; preventing irregular migration and cross-border human trafficking; and strengthening timely information sharing with relevant countries to better protect citizens.
Within the framework of the conference, leaders of the ministry presented the foreign minister’s certificates of merit to collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in implementing the GCM action plan during the 2020-2025 period./.
VNA
