Cyprus – IOM has opened a Country Office in Nicosia, Cyprus. It will provide support to the Cypriot authorities in a number of critical areas related to migration management and capacity building of officials on migration-related matters, including resettlement, assisted voluntary return and reintegration, and counter-trafficking.

IOM Deputy Director General Laura Thompson this week made an official visit to Nicosia to mark the occasion and discuss with the relevant authorities potential future collaboration and issues of common interest.

Ambassador Thompson joined Cyprus’ Minister of Interior Socrates Hasikos to deliver a public lecture at the University of Cyprus within the framework of the European Year of Development.

In her intervention on “Migration & Development: Perspectives to the Mediterranean Crisis,” Ambassador Thompson provided an analysis of the migratory situation in the Mediterranean and Western Balkans.

She highlighted the relevance of migration in realizing the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and welcomed closer collaboration between IOM and the Government of Cyprus, which currently faces a range of migration-related challenges and opportunities. Cyprus has been a member of IOM since 1974.

For further information, please contact Dimitrios Tsagalas, Communications Assistant IOM Cyprus, Tel: +357 22 77 22 70, Email: dtsagalas@iom.int