Harare, 17 March 2016 – The newly appointed International Organization for Migration (IOM) Zimbabwe Chief of Mission Ms. Lily Sanya, met the Government of Zimbabwe’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Simbarashe Mumbengegwi at his Munhumutapa offices today.

During the meeting, Ms. Sanya presented her letter of introduction and credentials to Minister Mumbengegwi. Minister Mumbengegwi warmly welcomed Ms. Sanya to Zimbabwe and wished her the best during her tour of duty.

Minister Mumbengegwi hailed the excellent collaboration that exists between the Government of Zimbabwe and IOM. Minister Mumbengegwi further chronicled how IOM has been extremely helpful towards migration management in Zimbabwe through various past initiatives such as reception centres at the Beitbridge, Plumtree and Nyamapanda border posts, provision of humanitarian assistance to mobile and vulnerable populations, community based planning projects, migration and development interventions and migration policy formulation processes, among others.  

Ms. Sanya looks forward to strengthening the cooperation between the Government of Zimbabwe and IOM. Ms Sanya spoke on length on how migration can be harnessed as a tool for economic development, elaborating on how the huge Zimbabwean diaspora can contribute to national development through financial remittances and skills transfer.

Ms Sanya is a Kenyan national and prior to this appointment she was with IOM Nigeria. Further, she has served IOM in various capacities for the past two decades.

IOM Zimbabwe Mission was established in 1985. Since then IOM has grown tremendously. IOM Zimbabwe is recognised by the Government of Zimbabwe as the principal international inter-governmental organization addressing the entire spectrum of migration issues.

IOM Zimbabwe has an exemplary track record in provision of technical assistance on migration management, emergency response, food distribution, HIV interventions, health management, protection of migrants’ rights, and dissemination of safe migration information. IOM Zimbabwe has operational presence across all the country’s provinces.