Doha – From 21-22 May, Qatar, in collaboration with the African Union, hosted the first Doha Dialogue on Labour Mobility between Africa, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jordan and Lebanon.

Mr. Othman Belbeisi, IOM’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, welcomed this initiative during his remarks at the launch of the Dialogue.

“The Doha Dialogue is a timely initative and a unique opportunity to address the challenges and potential of labour migration between the two regions, and to tap into the enormous potential that regular pathways and skills-based labour mobility can offer”.

The meeting comes as the number of African migrant workers to the Middle East has seen a substantial increase, revealing gaps in protection that would be best addressed through increased dialogue and international cooperation.

The two-day meeting brought together Ministers and high-level officials from 25 African countries, the six GCC countries, as well as Jordan and Lebanon.  The exchanges focused on the importance of harnessing the benefits of migration for both origin and destination countries, ensuring that migration is safe, orderly and regular and that migrants are protected throughout the entirety of their journey.

Mr. Belbeisi emphasized that the IOM Strategic Plan (2024-2028) identifies facilitating pathways for regular migration as one of its three strategic objectives. He added “IOM extends its full support to the countries in the region for the continuation of this dialogue initiative”.

The meeting ended with the adoption of the Doha Declaration. It formalizes the adoption of the Doha Dialogue as a non-binding, state led consultative process on labour mobility between the two regions. Furthermore, it emphasizes a shared commitment to improve migration governance and enhance fair and ethical recruitment in the Africa-Middle East Corridor.

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For more information, please contact:

In Doha: Roula Hamati, Migration Management Officer, rhamati@iom.int

In Cairo: Joe Lowry, Senior Regional Media and Communications Officer, jlowry@iom.int