BTB
The 4th ASEM – ASIA- EUROPE Meeting — Directors General Meeting on Migratory Flows at BICC
– Bali International Convention Centre – on 5-7 December has just ended. The outcomes of the meeting:
– Recognized that the globalization caused the increasing complexity of migration as faced by the members of ASEM. The meeting reaffirmed the need of international cooperation to tackle illegal migration in all respects. To solve such problem the meeting therefore reaffirmed the importance of ASEM Directors General for Immigration meetings to address the issues.
– Immigration information sharing:
A. The meeting had a thorough exchange of views and experience on biometric technology and explored its advantages, and its potential weakness. The meeting was encouraged by the implementation of such technology by a number of ASEM partners and appealed others to implement it as soon as possible in accordance with the ICAO standards and explored possible cooperation regarding feasibility study on e-passport and immigration infrastructure capacity building.
B. The meeting reaffirmed the importance of implementation on immigration information sharing, especially on immigration intelligence information as early steps to prevent and combat the threat of terrorism and transnational organized crimes such as people smuggling, trafficking in persons especially women and children, lost and stolen passport and travel document fraudulence.
C. The meeting supported Indonesian’s suggestion of establishing and ASEAN- wide immigration intelligence network as a practical mechanism on intelligence information exchange and when relevant, the information should be exchange between ASEM partners.
D. Seminar on document fraud would be convened in 2006.
-Cooperation on Border Control Management. To enhance border control management, the meeting also confirmed the need to further intensify cooperation in capacity building bilaterally and at ASEM- wide levels. Covering the best practice on the implementation of advance passenger information system and biometric technology.
– Cooperation in migration management. The meeting discussed the facilitation of legal migration, both skilled and low skilled. The facilitation would remain as preventing illegal migratory flows. Properly managed facilitation would have potential benefits for both Asia and Europe.
– To overcome issues of failed asylum seekers, the meeting encouraged partners to work together, including cooperation with relevant international organizations.
– The meeting agreed that the ASEM Migration Contact Points should be more regularly used in order to facilitate effective exchanges of information and experiences toward Europe as well as to support ASEM- wide immigration network. The meeting looked forward to the immediate establishment of ASEM immigration web-site.
– The next ASEM (the 5th ASEM) would be hosted by Finland.
