On Thursday, 30 June, 2022, France and Senegal, the incoming co-Chairs of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) convened a Friends of the Forum meeting. The event marked the official start of the Franco-Senegalese co-chairmanship, which will last 18 months and will end with the 14^th GFMD Summit to be held in Paris at the end of 2023. 

Representatives from governments and the three GFMD mechanisms – Civil Society, Mayors and Business together with the youth component – gathered last Thursday, June 30, for the Friends of the Forum meeting which reconvened the GFMD community for the first time since November 2021. 

The meeting, held in a hybrid format, began with some opening remarks by the Troika, which consists of the previous chair, the United Arab Emirates, and the two current co-chairs, France and Senegal, and then delved into the presentation of the GFMD 2022-2023 Co-Chairmanship. 

First, France presented the six thematic priorities identified by the co-chairs to be the focus of the GFMD discussions, with climate change as the central and cross-cutting topic: 

1. The impact of climate change on human mobility;  
2. Rights and migration;  
3. Multi-level governance;  
4. Diasporas;  
5. Labour migrations;  
6. Culture and discourse. 

Thematic workshops and roundtables are expected to be held in preparation of the GFMD key activities and Summit which are planned to be held as follows (N.B. The dates remain to be confirmed): 

• Autumn 2022 – Co-chairmanship Launch Event: The impact of climate change on human mobility  
• Autumn 2023 – Cultural Event: The socio-cultural contributions of migration 
• December 2023 – 14^th GFMD Summit 

Finally, the mechanisms were given a dedicated space to present their priorities and their roadmap for this new phase in the GFMD. In her intervention, Clara Keller-Skupień, co-Coordinator of the Civil Society Mechanism, stated that civil society “welcomes the Co-Chairmanship of France and Senegal with both enthusiasm and expectations”, and is eager to engage in this 18-month journey “to jointly design and implement concrete solutions on each of the key priorities”. She reaffirmed civil society determination to contribute to each of the six priority themes both via dedicated working groups and preparatory activities, “thus ensuring that this upcoming GFMD becomes a truly unique opportunity for multilateral and multi-stakeholder action on migration and development”. 

Similar support for the process, the leadership of governments, and the planned activities was also expressed by the other mechanisms and some government representative that took the floor during the meeting. 

In conclusion, the Friends of the Forum was an opportunity for the incoming co-chairs to present to governments and stakeholders the program for the next 18 months and to invite everyone to contribute to the success of this process, either through thematic leadership and collaboration or financial contributions. As expressed several times by the French co-chair, a robust and productive GFMD is the result of the joint work of States and stakeholder mechanisms, and of their ongoing support and engagement. This Friends of the Forum paves the way for a robust co-Chairmanship with vigorous engagement of the GFMD community.