Wednesday, 27 March 2024
Geneva, 27 March 2024
During an informal ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of France this morning, H.E. Mr. Jérôme Bonnafont, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations in Geneva officially handed over the GFMD Chair to H.E. Mr Gustavo Adolfo Gallón Giraldo, Permanent Representative of Colombia.
Ambassador Bonnafont expressed appreciation to Colombia for assuming the Chair of the Forum. Acknowledging Colombia's pivotal role in addressing migration issues in the Latin American region, Ambassador Bonnafont highlighted the importance of geographical rotation of the Chair of the GFMD given the increasing relevance of migration in international fora and the need for dialogue among governments and stakeholders across all regions of the world.
Ambassador Gallón stressed that assuming the GFMD Chair is an exceptional opportunity for Colombia to highlight the significance of implementing public policies geared towards leveraging the contributions of migration to development. Ambassador Gallón mentioned Colombia's efforts to regularize migrants and maximize their contribution to the country's development while upholding human rights and indicated that Colombia's agenda for the GFMD 2024-2025 will have a strong focus on gender and diversity, children's issues, education, culture, climate change, social protection and inclusion in the workforce. Colombia will collaborate with all GFMD stakeholders to develop the programme of the upcoming Forum, including government agencies, civil society, local governments, youth, the private sector, academia, and international partners.
Colombia will officially assume its role of GFMD Chair on 1 April 2024.