Diplomatic Desk:
The newly appointed Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bangladesh, Dr. Laura Tomm-Bonde, paid a courtesy call on Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at his office in the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday (July 28, 2026).
In the meeting, which was held in a very cordial atmosphere, important discussions were held on strengthening the two-decade bilateral partnership with IOM, strengthening national anti-human trafficking efforts, preventing cyber-enabled human trafficking, border management, etc.
In the meeting, the IOM Head of Mission said that the organization’s Deputy Director General (DDG) Ugochi Daniel will visit Bangladesh from August 1 to 5, 2026. He invited the Minister to attend a special reception to be organized at UN House Bangladesh on 04 August 2026 on the occasion of Ugochi Daniel’s visit to Bangladesh.
The Minister welcomed the newly appointed Chief of Mission to Bangladesh and assured the Ministry of Home Affairs of overall guidance and full cooperation in preventing human trafficking, modernizing border management, developing technical capacity and ensuring safe migration.
The meeting expressed satisfaction that the national validation work of the ‘Integrated Border Management (IBM)’ strategy, jointly developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and IOM, has almost reached its final stage. At the same time, IOM’s commitment to provide technical assistance to the Special Branch of the Bangladesh Police Force and other law enforcement agencies was reaffirmed.
The meeting also discussed the key role of the Ministry of Home Affairs in preventing human trafficking in Bangladesh and the technical assistance of IOM. IOM reiterated its commitment to policy support, specialized training, research, institutional capacity building and global fundraising.
It is worth noting that this is the first bilateral meeting of Dr. Laura Tomm-Bonde with the Ministry of Home Affairs after assuming her new responsibility as the Head of the International Organization for Migration’s Bangladesh Mission.
The meeting was attended by Rebecca Khan, Joint Secretary, Political-1 Branch, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Dr. S. M. Morshed, National Consultant (Government) of IOM.
