The MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje was opened in September 2004 to serve as a secretariat to the MARRI Regional Forum and to accomplish MARRI political commitments. The formal establishment of MARRI structures had been completed by signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on MARRI on 2 July 2004 in Tirana, and the signing of the host agreement for the MARRI Regional Centre on 15 November 2004 in Tirana.The MARRI Regional Centre has been fully functional as of January 2005 and since then it plays an advisory, information-sharing and coordination role, with the eventual goal that the associated states develop European-level standards of legislation, training and processes. The MARRI Regional Centre provides a link between the Presidency of the Regional Forum and the MARRI Member States, functioning as the administrative and supporting structure/secretariat of the MARRI Regional Forum.
The MARRI Regional Centre is headed by the Director, assigned with the overall coordination, management of staff relations and supervision of budget and administrative matters, high-level liaisoning with Presidency of the Regional Forum, MARRI Member States and other international actors. The MARRI Regional Centre is staffed with Deputy Director and seconded State Officials who are representatives of the state and civil administration of MARRI Member States and their tasks are divided according to their expertise (i.e. migration, asylum and refugees, visa and consular cooperation, external relations/public information).
All MARRI Regional Forum members (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) have their representatives in the Centre, which acts as a hub for consultations, dialogue, training, capacity building, information exchange and other regional activities. The MARRI Regional Centre also employs local administrative-technical personnel, including the secretary/financial assistant and a driver, while the office space for the Centre was kindly provided by the Government of Macedonia.
From April 2004 until April 2005 Albania held the Presidency of the MARRI Regional Forum, the then Serbia and Montenegro took over the year-long Presidency at the Ministerial Meeting held in Tirana on 5 April 2005. Bosnia and Herzegovina held the Presidency from the MARRI Ministerial Regional Forum held in Belgrade on 7 April 2006. At the MARRI Ministerial Regional Forum held in Sarajevo on 26 April 2007, the Republic of Croatia took over the Presidency of the MARRI Regional Forum in 2007 and 2008. The Republic of Macedonia lead the MARRI Presidency from May 2008 to May 2009.
Montenegro holds the current MARRI Presidency-in-Office (May 2009-April 2010).