A catalogue including all the meetings of the Budapest Process in 1993 is available here.
Over the last 30 years, the Budapest Process has become recognised by participating states from East to West as an excellent tool for identifying and addressing evolving migration challenges.
Ministerial Conferences are milestones in the development of the Budapest Process. Each Ministerial Declaration has given room to a widened geographical and thematic scope.
In 2010, Türkiye proposed the expansion of the dialogue, with the inclusion of the Silk Routes Countries, namely Afghanistan (*until August 2021), Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. This led to the negotiations of a new Ministerial Declaration focusing on a Silk Routes Partnership for Migration and to new projects being developed under the umbrella of the Budapest Process.
2013 was a pivotal year for the Budapest Process as it marked the 20 years’ anniversary of the dialogue. Furthermore, the Ministerial Conference in April 2013 led to the adoption of the “Istanbul Ministerial Declaration on a Silk Routes Partnership for Migration” which reaffirmed the geographical focus of the Budapest Process to the Silk Routes Region and helped evolve the dialogue towards a partnership among countries of origin, transit and destination.
In February 2019, Ministers gathered in Istanbul to adopt the “Istanbul Commitments on the Silk Routes Partnership for Migration and its Call for Action – a five year plan”. This political declaration and action plan build upon the achievements of the 2013 Istanbul Ministerial Declaration while taking into account the migration developments of the past years. The Declaration introduces five commitments to be upheld in migration management – to partnership, to comprehensive migration management, to human rights, to support and solidarity and to knowledge. The Budapest Process is currently focusing on the implementation of the five-year action plan, which is due to conclude in 2024.
