On 17 January, Minister Bart Somers attended the OECD Ministerial Conference on Migration and Integration in Paris. Prior to the conference, on 16 January, a High Level Forum on the same theme took place.
Minister Somers was specifically invited by the organization to this High-Level Forum for his expertise and experience with integration policy at the local and regional level. Together with the Minister of Migration from Nova Scotia, Mrs. Diab, he led a "Foresight" session on the role of regional and local authorities in migration and integration policies in 2035.
During the Ministerial Conference entitled "Making Migration and Integration Policies Future Ready", Minister Somers was head of the delegation of our country. The ministers present - from the OECD member states as well as from observing non-member states such as Brazil and China - exchanged experiences and views on the challenges, opportunities and best practices in their countries. New was the strong interest and therefore recognition of the important role of local and regional authorities in the field of integration. The conference concluded with the approval of the OECD Ministerial Declaration and the priorities for OECD's further policy work on migration and integration.
The minister, also vice-minister-president of the Government of Flanders, also had bilateral meetings with his colleagues from Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark and Finland. The visit was partially prepared and accompanied by the Delegation of the Flemish Government to the Multilateral Organizations in Paris.
General Representation of the Government of Flanders to OECD