Mauritius - “Diaspora communities represent a significant and valuable source of ideas and innovations to tackle new and emerging challenges”. It is with those words that the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr. Alan Ganoo, opened the maiden edition of the Southern Africa Regional Diaspora Engagement and Investment Forum from 17 to 19 October 2022 at The Residence Mauritius in Belle Mare, Mauritius. 

Organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the Government of Mauritius, the Forum brought together over 50 delegates from the 16 countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN) agencies, multi-lateral organizations, and the private sector. It provided the opportunity for them to share experiences and lessons learned on diaspora-related interventions in the region, with the aim of scaling up initiatives to strengthen diaspora engagement and remittances use in the region. It also served as an avenue to promote productive discourse on sustainable investments and skills transfer approaches to attract the Southern African diaspora community globally. 

“IOM recognizes the diaspora as a key strategic asset in building national institutional capacities” says the IOM Regional Director for Southern Africa, Mr. Ashraf El Nour. “[The diaspora] should be recognized as one of Africa's main assets of social, financial, intellectual, and political capital ... for [its] development and integration.” 

The Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union in Mauritius, Mr. Milko Van Gool, expressed his appreciation to be able to “(...) join hands today with IOM to build a common understanding about Southern Africa diaspora processes and to discuss initiatives for an effective engagement of the diaspora (…)”. 

This Forum directly links to supporting and promoting diaspora investment through skills matching and the temporary return of highly skilled professionals, thereby contributing to the realization of the overall aspirations and priorities of SADC member states. 

There is a need to “(...) harvest the best ideas and innovations not only from the local population, but also from our Diasporas, which are –(...) our national assets and which constitute one of the major networks to achieve the objectives of socio-economic progress” affirmed the Honourable Alan Ganoo. 

Southern African countries increasingly recognize diaspora communities as valuable assets to their economies. According to the UN DESA 2020 report, 6.4 million SADC migrants live outside their countries of origin, with the majority residing in other SADC countries. The Forum resulted in the identification of priorities for empowering diaspora communities based on the specific dynamics of the region, which will form the basis for the development of a roadmap for the effective mapping and engagement of Southern African diaspora communities. 

The Forum was held with the support of the Southern Africa Migration Management (SAMM) project, funded by the European Union, and the IOM Migration Resource Allocation Committee (MIRAC). 

For more information, please contact: 

Chief of Mission: Céline Lemmel | clemmel@iom.int |Tel: +230 210 4250 

Regional Project Coordinator: Tunde Omoyeni | somoyeni@iom.int | Tel: +27 71684 0172 

Social Media: SAMM Project | IOM Regional Office website | IOM Mauritius & Seychelles Facebook | Website: https://www.iom.int/countries/mauritius