116 Session of IOM Council
Statement of Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Albania
H.E. Mrs. Vasilika HYSI
Geneve, 10 December 2025
Honorable Director General
Distinguished Participants
It is my great honour to address the 116th Session of IOM’s Council, in this very crucial moment for migration governance in the world and for aligning development policies for smarter migration outcomes. Albania aligns itself with the statement delivered by European Union.
Allow me, to express the Government of Albania’s appreciation to the leadership of the IOM for the tireless efforts in safeguarding the core functions of the Organization. In a moment of global budgetary and structural adjustments, we commend IOM’s commitment to ensuring that its essential mandates on facilitating safe and regular migration, saving lives, and advancing durable solutions for displaced persons – remain intact. These functions are essential to the international community and to Member States such as ours.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) both recognize the transformative development potential of human mobility. Delivering on this promise, however, requires sustained political will, practical policy solutions, and a readiness to embrace new partnerships, technologies, and evidence-based approaches.
For Albania, strengthening the link between migration and development is a national priority. In this regard, the implementation of our National Strategy on Migration 2024-2030 developed with the support of IOM and aligned to the GCM and the SDG Agenda, reflects our determination to manage migration in a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach – focusing on regular migration pathways, circular migration, protecting migrants’ rights, and supporting integration, both for returning nationals and foreign migrants in Albania. We value IOM’s longstanding partnership in supporting institutions at both national and local levels to advance this vision.
Albania has now entered a decisive phase of its European Union accession process, having opened all negotiating chapters and moving steadily into their substantive review. In this context, IOM has been a key partner in supporting the advancement of Chapters 23 and 24, by contributing to the strengthening of the legal framework, enhancing the capacities of national institutions, and engaging highly skilled Albanian diaspora in this vital process.
Albania also continues to play an active role in regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, recognizing that shared challenges require coordinated responses. Through our collaboration with IOM, we have advanced practical measures in areas such as capacity-building, border and migration management, protection-sensitive procedures, and readmission cooperation.
Excellencies,
As we look ahead to the 2026 International Migration Review Forum, we see this as a critical moment to accelerate progress and reaffirm our commitment to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The Government of Albania has been devoted to the implementation, follow-up and review of the GCM since its very adoption and stands ready to contribute constructively to this process.
IOM has remained one of Albania’s most steadfast partners, in developing a more resilient, inclusive, and development-oriented approach to migration governance. Government of Albania fully supports IOM’s Resilience Campaign, which underscores that resilient migrants and resilient communities are central to sustainable development. We believe this message must remain at the heart of global migration governance.
In closing, Albania reiterates its strong support for IOM and its leadership, and we remain committed to advancing a positive, development-oriented vision of human mobility, grounded in solidarity, shared responsibility, and international cooperation.
Thank you.
