Following the opening ceremony of the Migration Information Centre for Returnees (MICR) at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra on 21 February 2022, a delegation of Ghanaian government officials travelled to North Rhine-Westphalia for a study visit from 03 to 09 April 2022.
The visit took place in the framework of ERRIN’s Government-to-Government project in Ghana, implemented by ICMPD and the Repatriation and Departure Service of the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia and the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). The objective of the study visit was to provide the Ghanaian delegation, drawn from the GIS-MICR officers and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) with a comprehensive overview of the processes of German asylum and residence law, including return management processes.
The delegation was welcomed at the Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration by Dr Joachim Stamp, Deputy Prime Minister of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Integration and Refugee Minister. “Our goal is to enable orderly rather than irregular migration. During [the] last visit, I therefore agreed with the Ghanaian government to jointly explore cooperation between Ghana and North Rhine-Westphalia in professional qualifications for the labour market needs of both countries and thus also for orderly labour market migration. We are currently setting up a cross-departmental and cross-institutional project group in my office”, said Minister Stamp.
During the week, the delegation had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Central Foreigners Authority in Bielefeld (ZAB) and the German Federal Police at Düsseldorf Airport.
