BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) held an opening ceremony here Monday to mark the establishment of its liaison office in China.

The Chinese government and the IOM signed an agreement on the establishment of liaison office in September 2006. Gerard R. Pascua, special envoy of the IOM director-general, is the first head of liaison office.

Cui Tiankai, assistant foreign minister, addressed the opening ceremony that the IOM is an important governmental organization in handling migration affairs. It plays a major role in policy coordination, technological cooperation, capability building and information sharing.

China hopes to carry out pragmatic, efficient and reciprocal cooperation with IOM in the future, he said.

IOM Director-General Brunson Mckinley said the liaison office will help promote the bilateral relationship of cooperation between the two sides, and the IOM will continue to work closely with the Chinese government on migration issues.

The IOM was established in 1951 with its headquarter in Geneva, Switzerland. It has 120 member countries and 19 observers. China became its observer in June 2001.