On April 4-8, 2011 a technical visit to France of representatives of the Russian authorities competent in the area of migration and readmission took place. The trip was organized within EU project “Development of Administrative Mechanisms in Support of Readmission of Migrants in the Russian Federation”, implemented jointly by IOM Moscow and FMS of Russia.

The Russian delegation, which consisted of representatives from FMS of Russia, State Duma, MFA of Russia, Office of Ombudsman as well as IOM Moscow, was welcomed by the representatives of Ministry of Interior of France, which is competent in the sphere of migration and readmission.

The parties discussed the current cooperation in the sphere of readmission and identified ways to improve practical mechanisms for cooperation between the competent authorities of the Russian Federation and France. Also, the participants exchanged information about the structure of the departments of both countries, presented statistics on migration and in particular, readmission, and discussed the practical aspects and working mechanisms in the field of return of migrants - both involuntary (readmission, expulsion, etc.) and voluntary.

During the stay a visit to closed migrant detention center in Vincennes, which is one of the biggest in France, was arranged. The participants had the opportunity to study in detail the experience of French colleagues on the organization of work with migrants contained in the center, as well as on the administration of such centers.

Russian participants also visited the office of the International Organization for Migration in Paris, where they discussed in detail issues relating to the activities of voluntary return from France and the interaction of governmental, international and non-governmental organizations in the field of return of migrant.