On Monday 23 April, IOM brought together representatives from different Ministries of the Jordanian government and IOM specialists on border management. The event, organized under a European Union’s Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace funded project, aimed at capitalizing IOM’s in-house technical expertise in the region to share it with the relevant authorities in Jordan and discuss the Jordanian context. This was done in line with the programs of IOM at a global level, as it is within IOM’s mandate to provide technical support to governments in the management of migration, including aspects related to management of borders 

During the event, experts from IOM Turkey, Iraq and the Regional Office based in Cairo, shared their experience on border management in their respective counties and within the region, with the aim of supporting the development of a national border management strategy for Jordan. This was done so as to obtain a bigger picture of the regional border challenges. 

The roundtable served as a first step to discuss the drafting of a compressive strategy for Border Management in Jordan, gathering inputs of the different departments currently implementing border management activities in the country. Representatives from the European Union Delegation to Jordan and from different European embassies attended the event and contributed to the discussions. 

“The existing initiatives in Jordan and the practice and collaboration with national and international stakeholders on border management set a good scenario to support the development of a national strategy on border management” said Enrico Ponziani, IOM Chief of Mission in Jordan, during the opening remarks. “We are here to support the efforts of Jordan which hosts a large number of refugees from different neighboring countries and has been doing so for many decades”, he added. 

Under the project “Support the national efforts in managing migration flows and refugee influx in the context of the Syria crisis”, IOM is supporting the capacity building and preparedness of the Government of Jordan to address migratory and refugee crises according to the international humanitarian standards. During the last months, a series of trainings have been delivered to front line officers on international and national humanitarian principles, while the upgrading of infrastructure and equipment at the borders is ongoing.