The main challenges in the process of managing the flow of refugees arriving in the southern part of Moldova have been discussed at a round table organized by UNHCR in partnership with Cahul Municipality.

Head of the SOUTH Regional Directorate (SOUTH RD) of the General Inspectorate for Migration (GIM), Commissioner Iurie Golban, the Deputy Mayor of the municipality of Cahul, Stella Bădin, representatives of public authorities, legal experts, members of civil society and international partners attended the event.

Commissioner Golban underlined that the GIM’s presence in Cahul district aims to facilitate the cooperation between the competent authority for foreigners and the applicant beneficiary, increasing the access of foreigners and applicants from the region to quality information, consultation and documentation services.

Another prerogative of the GIM is to contribute to state security. In this regard, the GIM strengthens the control of the legality of stay of foreigners in the region and ensures respect for the rights of protection seekers, including asylum seekers who illegally cross the state border, the Head of the SOUTH RD stated.

As a sign of solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, the temporary protection mechanism on the territory of the Republic of Moldova has been extended until 1 March 2025. So far, the SOUTH RD of the GIM has documented with temporary protection 3969 citizens of Ukraine. And since the beginning of this year, a total of 552 asylum applications have been taken up.