On 17 March 2021 a meeting between IOM Moscow Chief of Mission, Abdusattor Esoev, and CSTO Secretary General, Stanislav Zas, took place in the office of the CSTO Secretariat.

During the meeting the parties exchanged their vision of the current migration situation both in the CSTO space and in the world as a whole. IOM Moscow Chief of Mission noted the importance of joining by CSTO member states of the Global Compact on Migration. An exchange of views and a constructive discussion of promising areas of interaction between the two organizations took place.

CSTO Secretary General informed the delegation of IOM Moscow in detail about the migration situation in the CSTO area of ​​responsibility and the measures taken to counter irregular migration. 

In addition, Mr. Zas noted that in 2018 the CSTO Action Plan to Combat Irregular Migration until 2025 was approved, according to which it is expected to deepen cooperation with international organizations, including the IOM. At the same time, CSTO Secretary General called for new forms of mutually beneficial cooperation between the Secretariat and IOM Office in Moscow.

Then representatives of IOM Moscow made a presentation of Comprehensive Comparative Legal Analysis of the Legislation of the CSTO Member States in the Field of Combating Irregular Migration and Human Trafficking. The contribution to the work of the staff of CSTO Secretariat was appreciated. As a result of the presentation, representatives of IOM Moscow made a number of specific proposals on the organization and forms of further cooperation with CSTO Secretariat. In particular, ideas were expressed about the possibility of joint development of draft recommendations on improving the national legislation of the CSTO member states in the field of combating irregular migration and the draft CSTO Model Law “On Combating Human Trafficking”.

The CSTO Secretary General highly appreciated the presented Comprehensive Comparative Legal Analysis and came up with an idea of ​​presenting during the next meeting of the Coordinating Council of the Heads of the Competent Authorities of the CSTO Member States on Combating Illegal Migration, which should tentatively be held in June this year in Tajikistan. In addition, CSTO Secretary General supported the initiatives to develop the draft recommendations and the model law.