International Conference "Migration and Demographic Development of the Republic of Belarus and Its Bordering Countries" is to be held in Minsk on November 15-16. The organizers of the forum are UN Population Fund (UNFPA), scientific and educational units of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus, and the Institute of Socio-Political Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Conference is a part of a whole package of activities implemented since the beginning of 2015 as part of the project "Support to the implementation of the national programme of demographic security of the Republic of Belarus" funded by UNFPA, UNICEF and the Government of the Russian Federation. 

During the briefing for mass media, Elena Kasko, Assistant Representative at UNFPA Belarus, said, "According to the UN estimates, as of the beginning of 2016 there were 247 mln. migrants in the world, that is 3.4% of the total population of the planet. Belarus is a proactive player in the global economic system and international labour exchange, thus the study and analysis of migration processes will be increasingly important as a factor of sustainable socio-economic development of our country. We hope that this Conference will greatly contribute to the understanding of the major trends of internal and external migration not only in Belarus, but also in the Eurasian Region in general."

Scholars from ten countries will speak at the Conference: Belarus, Brazil, Hungary, Vietnam, Portugal, Russia, USA, Turkey, Finland and South Africa. The speakers will include Professor Vladimir Iontsev from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Dang Nguyen Anh, Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of Vietnam, Tatyana Mironova, Director of the Research Institute of Labour of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Ryazantsev, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ninel Sharplay, representative of the Walter Sisulu University, South Africa. In particular, the issues of the present-day migration crisis and demographic security, migration policy in Belarus and the Eurasian Region, and relationships between migration and public health will be discussed at the Conference. Over 100 people will participate in the forum.