On December 19 of this year, a meeting was held between the First Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS) Akramjon Nematov and the Chief of the mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Uzbekistan Andrew Gray.

Akramjon Nematov congratulated Andrew Gray on his appointment as the Chief of the IOM Mission in Uzbekistan and expressed confidence that his experience and skills will make a significant contribution to strengthening the work on managing migration processes in the country and resolving issues related to migration.

In turn, Andrew Gray highly praised the migration policy being pursued in Uzbekistan, which in recent years has acquired a truly national scale. The opening of a separate IOM office in Tashkent confirms the Organization's interest in expanding international cooperation with the republic in the field of migration.

During the conversation, the parties discussed issues of establishing bilateral contacts in areas of mutual interest. In particular, an agreement was reached to conduct joint research in the area of ​​improving external labor migration and studying the impact of climate change on migration processes.

To institutionalize cooperation, the parties expressed interest in signing a Memorandum of Cooperation, as well as a Plan of Joint Activities between the ISRS and the IOM Representative Office in Uzbekistan.