Rabat 12 July- With the support of the International Organization of Migration (IOM), the Kingdom of Morocco together with other Global Compact for Safe Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM)’s Champion countries, and, hosted in-person “GCM Talk” on 11-12 July 2023 to discuss and exchange on good practices, challenges and gaps on Bilateral Labour Migrations Agreements (BLMA), including Skills Mobility Partnerships (SMP). 

Member States including Chad, Egypt, Germany, Georgia, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Tunisia and Türkiye, have participated in the inter-regional event.

“As the host country, the Kingdom of Morocco is honored to bring together distinguished representatives and experts from Africa, the Middle East to discuss and exchange lessons learned, good practices and potential challenges on Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements and Skills Mobility Partnerships.” Said M. Ismail Chekkori, Director of Global Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Resident Abroad.

 “This important event serves as a platform to enhance cooperation, foster inclusive labor markets, and promote the full participation of migrant workers in the formal economy in line with the goals set by the Global Compact for Migration. We are strongly committed to implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and aim to strengthen pathways for regular migration, facilitate decent work, and advance our collective efforts for the attainment of the objectives set forth in the Global compact adopted in Marrakech ». 

GCM Champion countries, together with countries with experience, expertise and interest in BLMAs including SMPs, engaged in a cross-regional consultation and peer-learning exchange on how best to implement specific aspects of the GCM.

The topics discussed included options and pathways for regular migration in a manner that facilitates labour mobility (GCM objective 5) and decent work (GCM objective 6) reflecting demographic and labour market realities, also as an approach to counter irregular migration in addition to reducing risks of human trafficking.

“Labour mobility plays an essential role in providing long-term solutions for both countries of origin and destinations while maximizing the positive impact of migration on development. As such, we are all committed to promoting efficient labor migration systems and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration provides an effective platform for multilateral dialogue which is essential in this framework ," said Ms. Laura Palatini, IOM Morocco Chief of Mission.”

“In this sense, we are delighted to host this GCM Talk in Morocco, a Champion country and active actor within the United Nations system as illustrated for example by the Moroccan's contribution to the work of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.” 

This GCM Talk encouraged exchange of ideas, identifying key challenges or issues which require attention, and helped initiating pledges and identifying practices for inclusion on the Migration Network Hub.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is the first-ever inter-governmentally negotiated UN agreement on a common approach to managing international migration.  It is based on a collective realization that no single government can effectively govern migration alone without cooperation, whether bilaterally, regionally, or globally.

In 2020, the UN Network on Migration invited a group of Member States to serve as “Champion countries” for the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, targeting them with explicit support from the Network, while also generating key insights, lessons learned, and positive practices that can be shared in dedicated spaces and with other Member States.

Champion countries are playing a critical role in demonstrating support for the GCM and recently helped galvanizing support for the International Migration Review Forum.

The Network guidance on BLMA is available here.

For More information please contact:
In Morocco:
Meryem Massaia, Senior Communications Assistant, IOM Morocco, mmassaia@iom.int 
In Cairo:
Mohammedali Abunajela, Spokesperson, Regional Media and Public Information Department (MENA-RO), mmabunajela@iom.int