The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) is a state-led consultative process open to all States that are Members and Observers of the United Nations. UN Agencies and other international and regional bodies may be invited as Observers. The GFMD was created upon the proposal of the United Nations Secretary-General at the UN General Assembly High-level Dialogue (HLD) on International Migration and Development in September 2006. The Forum’s purpose is to address the multi-dimensional aspects, opportunities and challenges related to international migration and its inter-linkages with development, to bring together government expertise from all regions, to enhance dialogue, cooperation and partnership and to foster practical and action-oriented outcomes at the national, regional and global levels.

The first GFMD meeting was hosted by Belgium in July 2007 with the assistance of the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for International Migration and Development, Peter Sutherland. Since then, 6 more GFMD summit meetings have been held across the world, hosted by the governments of the Philippines (2008), Greece (2009), Mexico (2010), Switzerland (2011), Mauritius (2012) and Sweden (2013-2014), respectively. The key outcomes of these GFMD meetings were submitted to the UN in the form of a Thematic Recollection, as an input to the 2nd UNHLD in October 2013.

At the 2nd UN HLD, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon lauded the GFMD for building a culture of trust among member states, thereby helping advance the dialogue and cooperation on international migration. The 2013 HLD Declaration urged the international community to work closer together in addressing the multi-faceted challenges and opportunities at the nexus of migration and development, and to advocate for the inclusion of migration in the new global development agenda.

As GFMD Chair-in-Office for 2014-2015, the Government of Turkey hosted the 8th GFMD Summit Meeting on 14-16 October 2015 in Istanbul under the overarching theme, “Strengthening Partnerships: Human Mobility for Sustainable Development.”

It was preceded by the Civil Society Days to be held on 12-13 October. The GFMD 2014-2015 Civil Society process was coordinated by the ICMC. For registration and other information about the Civil Society Days, please go to www.gfmdcivilsociety.org.