Skopje – The regular mid-term MARRI Regional Committee meeting under the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina took place at the premises of the Regional Centre in Skopje. The event was chaired by MARRI Committee Member of Bosnia and Herzegovina Almir Sahovic and it was attended by MARRI Committee members, National Coordinators, representatives of MARRI Participants and MARRI staff.
MARRI RC Director Sashko Kocev presented the overall activities of the Regional Centre in the past six months with particular focus on the implementation of MARRI Strategy 2018-2020. He gave an overview of the consultations with MARRI Participants and strategic communication with numerous international partners and donors. Additionally, Mr. Kocev informed about the state of play regarding the nominated representatives in MARRI bodies and summarized the implemented and upcoming project activities.
MARRI’s ongoing reform and including amendments on the MARRI basic documents was one of the main topics on the agenda. The representative of the Republic of Macedonia to MARRI RC Atanas Minov, on behalf of the Macedonian Coordinator of the Ad hoc Working Group briefed the Committee about the latest developments on this matter, while MARRI Senior Adviser Christoph von Harsdorf outlined the possible future steps for Committee’s consideration.
In line with its competences, the Committee also discussed the Action Plan of the MARRI Strategy 2018-2020 presented by the MARRI Programme Manager Aleksandar Todosiev. Further, it reviewed the proposed Financial plan for 2019 and recommended it for adoption to the Regional Forum of Ministers. Concerning the strategic goals of the Initiative, the participants were briefed about the ongoing dialog for strengthening the collaboration with International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the possibility of signing Memorandum of Understanding with Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC). In context of international developments in the area of migration, the Committee deliberated the mandate of MARRI for supporting and monitoring the implementation of the UN Global Compact for Migration in WB6 as well as the positioning of MARRI as a Central Migration Agency in the region.