Dar el Salaam – Two delegations from the Government of Sudan completed a four day visit to Tanzania on 24th August 2017 to exchange best practice on the management of migration and to discuss technical options for modernizing migration management in Sudan.

The delegation, led by Lieutenant General Awad El Dahiya, the head of the Sudanese Passport and Civil Registration Corporation visited Dar el Salaam and met officials from the Tanzania Ministry of Home Affairs, The International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Identity Authorities Operational Data Centre. The visit was an opportunity to exchange best practice, improve regional cross border cooperation and to identify options to address the challenges posed by human trafficking. The group also visited a One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at the Hollili/Tavata border crossing point between Kenya and Tanzania. The OSBP concept, where the border management authorities of both countries are collocated in the same building, provides a model for cross border cooperation, leading to the quicker and more efficient processing of goods and people as well as facilitating joint action against human trafficking.

A parallel delegation of Sudanese Government representatives attended a three day training workshop at the IOM’s African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC) in Moshi, Tanzania. The focus was on electronic border management systems and in particular the Migration Information & Data Analysis System (MIDAS), IOM’s border management information system.

This training was delivered in Arabic, which is “ [T]he first in-house training that IOM ACBC has delivered in Arabic. This, in my view, is a very positive and practical example of IOM’s firm commitment to upgrade its own capacities to best meet the needs and expressed demands of African Member States in the domain of migration and border management. Providing technical training in the appropriate language is a key element for successful outcomes,” stated Dr. Qasim Sufi, IOM Tanzania Chief of Mission, at the training’s closing ceremony.

The visit was funded by the Better Migration Management (BMM) Project. It is financed by the “European Union Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa” (Horn of Africa Window). The Better Migration Management is a regional development cooperation project established in this context, to support the countries of the region to enhance their cooperation and to adopt common approaches to improve migration management. The overall objective of the BMM Project is to improve migration management in the region, and in particular to curb the trafficking of human beings and the smuggling of migrants within and from the Horn.