This is the first time Viet Nam hosts this kind of meeting since the country joined the Bali Process since its inception in 2002, which aims to address practical issues related to smuggling, trafficking and related transnational crime.

This year’s meeting provides an opportunity for Viet Nam to join hands in addresssing global issues, thus contributing to peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world.

Viet Nam approved the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in December last year, paving the way for the Southeast Asian country to strengthen interational cooperation in effective management of migration.

The meeting is also expected to help improve awareness of relevant agencies throughout the process of a plan for the implementation of the GCM, which is being drafted by the Foreign Ministry.

The Bali Process was jointly initiated by the Governments of Australia and Indonesia at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime in Bali, Indonesia in February 2002.

The objectives for Bali Process include:

The development of more effective information and intelligence sharing;
Improved cooperation among regional law enforcement agencies to deter and combat people smuggling and trafficking networks;
Increased public awareness in order to discourage these activities and warn those susceptible;
The enactment of national legislation to criminalize people smuggling and trafficking in persons;
Provision of appropriate protection and assistance to the victims of trafficking, particularly women and children; and
Assisting countries to adopt best practices in asylum management.

The Process has 49 members, including 45 countries and territories and 4 international organizations like the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

VGP