In Aswan, Egypt, on 19–20 October 2025, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the Fifth Edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development. The agreement underscores a shared commitment to advancing sustainable peace, inclusive development, and resilient responses to displacement, conflict, and climate challenges across Africa and the Middle East.
The MoU establishes a collaborative framework covering human mobility, conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding, women and youth engagement, peace and security, and the climate-peace-development nexus. This partnership will support joint actions under the Aswan Forum, Egypt’s COP27 “Climate Responses for Sustaining Peace” initiative, and capacity-building activities focused on countering cross-border crimes and improving integrated border governance.
Senior representatives attended the signing, including Ambassador Amr El Sherbiny, Ambassador Seif Kandeel, and senior IOM officials such as Mohammed Abdiker, Othman Belbeisi, and Carlos Oliver Cruz. Ambassador Seif Kandeel highlighted the longstanding strategic collaboration between CCCPA and IOM, emphasizing their joint commitment to addressing the complex intersections of migration, peace, security, and development.
IOM’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Othman Belbeisi, noted that the partnership reinforces IOM’s dedication to sharing technical expertise, building partnerships, and implementing community-led solutions that directly improve people’s lives. Egypt’s leadership as a proponent of the Global Compact for Migration continues to inspire regional cooperation and innovation in migration governance.
The Aswan Forum, launched in 2019 during Egypt’s African Union chairmanship, is an African-owned high-level platform that convenes heads of state, regional and international organizations, civil society, the private sector, and experts to address interconnected challenges of peace, security, and development. IOM has been a partner since the Forum’s inception, contributing to expert workshops, policy dialogues, and implementing initiatives at the humanitarian-peace-development nexus.
