The 10th Global Baku Forum on “The World of Today: Challenges and Hopes” featured the fifth panel session themed “Migration as a symptom of world poverty, inequality, climate stress and conflict”.

The session was moderated by former Director-General of Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, Member of the UN-ICT Task force, former Chair UNESCO Intergovernmental council for the Development of Communication, President Globethics.net Walter Fust.

In his remarks, Walter Fust highlighted war conflicts, climate change, as well as harsh living conditions as the main reasons of growing number of migrants. Describing issue of migration as a global problem, the moderator stressed the role of integration in addressing this issue.

Former Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma touched upon the migration problem the country faced after 1990, saying that over 600 thousand people left Latvia at the time.

Addressing the session, former Moldovan Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici said that to find the solution, the reasons for migration problem should be researched first. He also proposed to draft global project in this regard.

Describing the migration as a complex phenomenon, Chief of Azerbaijan`s State Migration Service Vusal Huseynov stressed the importance of optimistic approach to the problem. He said that over one million Azerbaijanis forced to leave their ancestral lands as a result of Armenian aggression. He noted that after Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity, the return of Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands has been launched and is well underway.

Former Columbian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin stressed the importance of supporting the Latin America countries, emphasizing the role of NGOs in addressing the migration issue.

Former ICESCO Secretary General Abdulaziz Altwaijri expressed his gratitude to Azerbaijan for hospitality and organization of the Forum, saying that the event enables to address global challenges. He also stressed the importance of the international cooperation in addressing migration issues.

Former President of Ecuador Rosalia Arteaga Serrano noted that 50 per cent of world refugees are women, as they become victims of violence.

Secretary-General of Muslim Council of Elders Mohamed Mahmoud Abdelsalam urged to put an end to racism and discrimination to solve the migration issue. “We should come together and demonstrate international solidarity when facing such a problem,” he added.

The panel session continued with discussions.