21 November 2013

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mission in Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Bank of Ukraine gathered over 20 representatives of the Ukrainian Government, Parliament, private sector and academia, to engage in a dialogue on ways to better utilize migration potential for the country's development.

This was the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the IOM-implemented project Research and Policy Dialogue Initiative on Migration and Remittances in Ukraine, funded by the Government of Canada.  As previously reported, with this initiative Canadian Government and IOM will assist the Government of Ukraine in developing policies to effectively harness the link between migration and development through increasing awareness among key stakeholders on the nature, use and impact of remittances entering Ukraine, describing migrants and their households overall financial behaviour, as well as assessing the overall impact of migration on the country's socio-economic development.

The National Bank of Ukraine is glad to support this very important initiative, said Mr. Serhii Nikolaichuk, Deputy Director of General Economic Department of the National Bank of Ukraine, who co-chaired the meeting. The NBU is very interested in the project results, in particular in the context of assessing the mid-term macroeconomic impact of migration processes and remittances on Ukraine's economy and developing comprehensive regulatory mechanisms in this sphere.

Up to now there has been no reliable research on remittances sent home by Ukrainian migrants; therefore I hope that this project will ensure a comprehensive and reliable research, which will help to develop a state policy based on mutually advantageous cooperation between Ukrainian migrants and Ukraine and to engage migrant remittances to Ukraine's economy. Project results will also be important for improving Ukrainian legislative base, underlined Mr. Valerii Patskan, Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations. He also ensured that the Committee he chairs will support the project and efficient application of its results.

Adopting evidence-based approaches to migration policy development and interventions is critical if we are to counter the myths and prejudices commonly found in discussions of the economic and social impacts of migration both positive and negative. But, to have meaningful impact, the results and recommendations must be accepted by the stakeholders, the research methodology must be designed and carried out in a collaborative and transparent manner. This is the crucial process the project partners are entering into now, stated Mr. Nicolaas de Zwager, Research Coordinator.

Research will be conducted with data generated primarily through a household survey in Ukraine and corresponding migrant surveys, targeting Ukrainian migrants working in Russia, Italy and Canada. It will attempt to capture various migration-related data, and will explore migrant remitting and savings patterns and factors which affect a migrant's decision to invest in Ukraine. Subsequently, it will suggest policy recommendations for the respective Ukrainian authorities.

For further information please contact IOM Ukraine Communications Officer Ms. Varvara Zhluktenko (+38 044 568 50 15, 067 447 97 92, vzhluktenko@iom.int).