Skopje – Representatives of MARRI Regional Centre took part in the Prague Process Migration Observatory “Workshop on Gathering, Analysis and Sharing of Migration Data”. The event gathered approximately 50 expert-level attendees from the Prague Process participants, with most of them coming from the post-Soviet region and the Western Balkans. Several EU Member States also attended, along with representatives of relevant international stakeholders. The geographic focus of the workshop was on the WB region and its migration data management in the

Sarajevo – MARRI RC Director Sasko Kocev attended the regional event “Municipal response to migration movements and emergency situations”, organized by German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The objective of the event was to bring together lessons learnt in municipalities from Serbia and Macedonia and transferring these experiences and practices to a wider regional context, in order to support the preparation and management of possible future

Vienna – MARRI Regional Centre Director Sashko Kocev and the Representative of Kosovo* to MARRI RC, Mr. Bilall Bilalli attended the Conference “Security and Migration – Promoting Partnership and Resilience”, organized under the auspices of Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2018.  The conference was dedicated to promote cooperation between EU and third countries, where participants had in‑depth discussions on police cooperation, asylum, migration, border management, extremism and terrorism. Aside from Ministers of Interior of EU Member

Building on the long-standing cooperation between the two organizations, MARRI Regional Centre and International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) Office in Skopje, organized an informative meeting where MARRI RC team had an opportunity to learn about the latest developments within ICMPD on organizational and operational level, about their upcoming events and to discuss the possible areas of joint activities. The ICMPD National Representative of Macedonia and Senior Project Manager, Ms. Melita Gruevska Graham in a comprehensive and holistic way,

Skopje – As part of the preparation process of the new joint programme “Strengthening regional dialogue, coordination and cooperation on migration in the Western Balkans”, financed by Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, MARRI Regional Centre with the support of GIZ Office in Skopje, organized a one-day workshop dedicated to mapping of all relevant actors and stakeholders in MARRI Participants that are involved in the migration management. The event took place at the

Skopje – MARRI RC Director, Mr. Sashko Kocev, met with the Ambassador of Switzerland, Ms. Sybille Suter Tejada and the Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Stephane Tomagian. Kocev used the visit to thank for the continuous support that the Swiss Government is giving to MARRI throughout the years and expressed readiness for future endeavors with aim to strengthen the regional cooperation. The interlocutors discussed on the current project funded by Swiss Government, BORDAIRPOL II and future steps to be taken

Skopje – MARRI RC held an Information and Discussion working meeting with the aim to provide an overview of the regional interventions where MARRI participates as a partner of the IPA II project ‘Regional Support to Protection-Sensitive Migration Management in the Western Balkans’. The meeting was organized and led by the two experts seconded by IOM to MARRI RC through the project. Under the auspices of the aforementioned EU project, IOM is supporting MARRI in establishing a regionally compatible mechanism

Prishtina – MARRI RC Director Sasko Kocev and MARRI Representative of Kosovo* Mr. Bilall Bilalli paid visit to Kosovo* where they concluded several meetings with representatives of the Ministries of Internal and Foreign Affairs of Kosovo* to discuss the migration issues and trends in Western Balkans with particular focus on Kosovo*. During their visit, MARRI delegation met with the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mr. Izmi Zeka, the General Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Fitim Sadiku; the Director

Gevgelija – MARRI delegation led by MARRI RC Director Sashko Kocev paid a visit to the Transit Center “Vinojug” on the Macedonian – Greek border. The representatives of the Regional Center for Border Affairs “Jug” under the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Macedonia hosted the delegation and informed that the number of prevented attempts for illegal crossing at the Macedonian-Greek border towards Macedonia, has increased during the summer reaching approximately 500 attempts per week. In this regard, the

Tirana – MARRI Regional Ministerial Forum crowned the Albanian Presidency-in-Office (June 2017 – 2018). Over 50 participants took part at the event. Apart MARRI Participants’ delegations, the representatives of international organizations, partners and donors also attended the meeting. The Deputy Interior Minister of Albania and MARRI National Coordinator Rovena Voda in capacity of MARRI Forum member, presented the yearlong activities and achievements that marked the Albanian Presidency among which, the adoption of the MARRI Strategy 2018-2020, European Commission positive assessment on