MOHAMED ELKAWKABI
The meeting room of the Souss-Massa region hosted, on Tuesday 28 June 2022, a regional meeting on the implementation of migration policies at the regional level” (DEPOMI), which was chaired by Mr. Karim ACHENGLI, President of the Souss-Massa region, with Ms. Zubaida El-SEKAT, Head of Service of the Moroccan Residents’ Sector at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, as well as my representatives from the Belgian Association for Development (ENABLE), Mr. Abderrahmane Labhioui and Mr. Pascal DUFORESTEL, Plenipotentiary Regional Councillor for International Cooperation of the Nouvelle-aquitaine Region
The meeting, which aims to work towards safe, legal and orderly migration to and from the region by adopting a human rights-based approach while working towards the establishment of a migration governance system, will reinforce the progressive integration of the migration dimension into overall strategic policies at national, regional and local levels in Morocco.
In his speech, Mr. Karim ACHENGLI stressed the importance that the Souss-Massa region attaches to migration, convinced of its role in territorial development, while the region has made this issue one of the most important components of its regional development programme and has endeavoured to develop a regional strategic vision in the field of migration. He also mentioned the partnership agreement concluded by the authority with Ibn Zohr University to accompany it in the elaboration of a strategy for migration, which is the strategy on which the authority is working in order to download its conclusions, recommendations and the content of the work programme in coordination with the different partners and actors in this field, including the creation of a multifunctional regional centre to guide and accompany migrants, provide various services to Moroccans of the world and regular migrants residing on the national territory, in addition to encouraging scientific research on the issue of migration and working to preserve the memory by creating a museum within this centre.
ACHENGLI also noted the authority’s involvement in all initiatives related to migration and development, in the framework of the two national strategies for Moroccans residing abroad and migration and asylum, including the Integration II project with the United Nations International Organization for Migration funded by the European Union countries and the Migration for Development project which aims to encourage what Moroccans around the world have accumulated in regional economic development, as well as the regional programme of immigration initiatives for Moroccans residing abroad and immigrants, recently signed with the European Union.
