The Eighth Bali Process Ministerial Conference took place on 10 February 2023, recalling and reaffirming the principles and direction set out in the 2016 and 2018 Ministerial Declarations and Co-Chairs Statements, and recognising enduring priorities from 2018 Strategy for Cooperation, as well as new priorities for cooperation.
Ministers acknowledged regional and global developments that heighten risks for regional stability and irregular migration, including ongoing impacts of Covid-19, conflict, misuse of technology, trafficking in persons into online scams, and natural and humanitarian, including climate-related, disasters.
Ministers endorsed an updated 2023 Adelaide Strategy for Cooperation, designed to reinvigorate an agile, relevant, and responsive Bali Process beyond 20 years since its establishment. They reaffirmed the need for a future-focused approach to changing patterns of people smuggling, human trafficking and related transnational crime in the Bali Process region.
The 2023 Adelaide Strategy for Cooperation includes activities conducted by Bali Process working groups, other engagement mechanisms, and the Regional Support Office (RSO), focused on eight areas of cooperation.
The eight areas of cooperation are:
(1) Law enforcement
(2) Stakeholder engagement
(3) Information sharing and public information campaigns
(4) Irregular Migration and Related Transnational Crime
(5) Border Management
(6) Victim Protection and Migration Management
(7) Returns and Reintegration
(8) Coordination and support
Activation of the Consultation Mechanism
Ministers further agreed to remain seized of the matter of the recent irregular maritime movements in the Andaman Sea. In this regard, Co-Chair Ministers tasked the Senior Officials Co-Chairs to reactivate the Consultation Mechanism in response to this matter, to explore options for Bali Process engagement and support.