China is the latest country to join the International Organization for Migration. (Photo : Reuters)
Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, welcomed China's membership to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Global Times reported.
The U.N. officer believes that China's accession will bring significant contributions to the IOM.
"China becoming a member of the IOM is particularly important at this crucial time, when the issue of migrants and refugees needs more attention and action than ever before," Ban remarked in a statement.
China's application was approved on Thursday. The country submitted its request to join the Geneva-based organization earlier in June.
The announcement of China becoming an IOM member comes a day before the group decided to join the United Nations as a related agency.
IOM Director General William Lacy Swing remarked during a meeting: "Today [30 June] has been a watershed moment in the life of this organization, which is celebrating its 65th year."
"We expect to soon have a seat and a voice at the U.N. table and the U.N. will soon have a dedicated migration agency," he said.
Established in 1951, the IOM was incepted after Western Europe experienced chaos and displacement following World War II. For the past years, it has broadened its scope to cater more issues concerning migration.
Currently, the group, which has over 160 members, is the leading global agency that works hand in hand with various governments and civil societies to "advance the understanding of migration issues, encourage social and economic development through migration, and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants," the Global Times said.
It was in 2001 when China first became an observer of the IOM.
Since then, the agency and the government have established intense cooperation on various pressing issues, such as overseas consular protection as well as capacity building of migration management, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang.
Lu further stated that with China's membership with the IOM, the nation is expected to play a bigger role in global migration.
Additionally, current members of the organization look forward to learn Chinese wisdom on how to foster international cooperation on migration.
