02.03.2021

The 23rd meeting of the working subgroup of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM, focused on combating human trafficking and illegal migration, was held on March 2, 2021, in a video conference format.

Participants included Police Lieutenant Colonel Elshad Mammadli, Chief Operations Commissioner for Special Important Cases of the Main Department on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings at the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Police Lieutenant Colonel Tahir Aliyev, Chief Operations Commissioner of the Division on Combating Illegal Migration of the General Passport, Registration, and Migration Department; Vagif Mansurov, Chief Inspector of the Main Department on Organizational Control and Togrul Babayev, Inspector of the Main Department on Migration Control of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Delegations from Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, and representatives of the GUAM Secretariat were also present.

Andrey Kononenko, Program Coordinator for Political and Legal Issues at the GUAM Secretariat, inaugurated the meeting and facilitated discussions among the participating states. Delegations from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova provided updates on migration policy trends, legislative changes, and operational updates related to combating human trafficking and illegal migration during the reporting period. They also briefed on the status of bilateral agreements on readmission and addressed various questions.

Towards the end of the meeting, participants discussed the implementation status of the organizational-practical action plan for 2020. It was agreed that information regarding the date and place of the next meeting of the GUAM working subgroup on combating human trafficking and illegal migration will be communicated through diplomatic channels. The meeting concluded with the signing of the meeting minutes by all participants.