In his opening remarks, Dr Workneh said his conviction that the conference would not ‘focus on just the problems in migration and displacement but turn its attention to the potential solutions that should be adopted’. He recalled that IGAD had’ embraced and supports the continuous development of a systematic research agenda that credibly informs future policy directions in all areas, including sustainable approaches to managing mixed migration and forced displacement’.
The Executive Secretary added that the ‘research outputs generated in this conference shall be instrumental in shaping policy options for IGAD Member States and influencing programming for durable and transitional solutions that combine both humanitarian and development approaches’.
The Regional Director of the International Organisation for Migration, the UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, the Addis Ababa-based Director Ethiopia International Labour Organisation, the Ambassador of Germany to Ethiopia and a representative from the Ministry of Peace of Ethiopia also took the floor during the opening ceremony.
