Morocco has made the migration issue a key priority of its commitment to a fairer, more equitable and more united world, said Tuesday in Rabat, the Director of Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, Ismail Chekkori, during a meeting.
Organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on “Good practices and challenges related to bilateral agreements on labor migration”, this meeting aims to open the debate on the good practices of bilateral agreements on labor migration and skills mobility partnerships, with a view to identifying the main challenges that require particular attention.
“Under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco has made the migration issue a key priority in its commitment to a fairer, more equitable and more united world, in the face of the great challenges of our time” , affirmed, on this occasion, Mr. Chekkori in his opening speech.
He recalled the many agreements signed with European neighbors on the voluntary return of migrants, the fight against trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants, stressing that efforts are underway to develop an integrated national information system on international labor migration.
Aware that the reconciliation of national needs with the requirements of the external labor market has become a key issue for the international employment ecosystem, the Kingdom launched a promising initiative less than a year ago aimed at fully exploiting the international job opportunities to address related challenges, Mr. Chekkori added.
This event highlights the central importance of migration, the commitment to fruitful partnerships and increased international cooperation in this area, in light of the paradigm shifts in migration management, noted the Moroccan official, highlighting highlights Morocco’s commitment to the implementation of the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.
For her part, the Head of Mission of the IOM in Morocco, Laura Palatini, indicated that the IOM considers the promotion of good governance of labor mobility as one of its priorities, recalling that the organization has , since 2019, has developed a comprehensive approach to migration based on Skills Mobility Partnerships.
This partnership model aims to ensure that skills mobility produces positive outcomes for both migrants, communities, labor markets and economies of origin and destination countries, she explained. .
With the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, Member States expressed their commitment to improving regular pathways for migration through Goal 5 of the Compact, which calls for “adopting the options and pathways for regular migration so as to facilitate labor mobility and decent work (…) in order to expand and diversify opportunities for safe, orderly and regular migration,” said Ms Palatini.
Rooted in Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8 and 10, and specifically called for by Goal 18 of the Compact, Skills Mobility Partnerships offer a tool that focuses on training and skills development for workers while putting the emphasis on multi-stakeholder collaboration, she also noted.
Adopted in 2018 at an intergovernmental conference on migration in Marrakech, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is the first intergovernmental agreement intended to cover all dimensions of international migration through a comprehensive and comprehensive approach.