Tonga is hosting the 27th Pacific Immigration Development Community (PIDC) annual conference, officially opened today, 17 June, by HRH Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala at the Fa’onelua Convention Center in Nuku'alofa.
The PIDC is a forum for official Immigration Agencies in the Pacific regio, with this year's theme: “Understanding the complexity of Migration Today: Protecting our Blue Pacific Continent and People”.
PIDC Secretariat, Telesia Kaitapu, said that the forum brought together heads and directors of immigrations to discuss and create solutions for migration related issues, from visas and passports to boarder security.
It’s aimed to address issues of mutual interest and foster multilateral co-operation and mutual assistance, aiming to strengthen member’s territorial borders and the integrity of their entry systems.
“The PIDC has plans and projects to address relevant issues regarding visas, passports and anything related to migration,” she said. “We are able to help and strengthen immigration offices in an international level through revising immigration laws and updating their boarder systems.”
PIDC can also assist in establishing appropriate cooperative mechanisms, including the effective exchange of information, to the extent permitted under Members’ domestic legislation and administrative procedures.
This can contribute to the management of irregular migration and serious immigration related organised crime issues, including people smuggling and human trafficking across the region.
PIDC also works closely with a range of national and regional bodies which have complementary aims, such as agencies involved in policing, customs, bio-security such as the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP), Oceania Customs Organization (OCO), FFA, PIFS and the Pacific Fusion Centre.
There is cooperation with international agencies such as IOM, UNHCR, UNODC, Bali Process and other agencies in order to assist PIDC members to be more effective in administering their responsibilities as immigration agencies.
The PIDC was established in 1996 and the first conference was held at the Forum Secretariat headquarters in Suva, Fiji, in 1996. Tonga last hosted the PIDC conference 22 years ago, in 2003.
The conference started with a PIDC Management Board Meeting on Monday 16 June, and will go on until Friday this week.
