Mozambique - IOM and the National Institute of Mozambique Communities in the Diaspora (INACE) last week held a two-day forum to engage relevant government ministries and the diaspora to define concrete ways in which the diaspora can participate actively in the social, economic and cultural development of Mozambique. 

The forum is part of a jointly implemented diaspora engagement project between IOM and the government, represented by INACE, which began in 2013 and is funded by the IOM Development Fund.

The 18-month, USD 200,000 initiative facilitates, enables and encourages meaningful communication between government and the Mozambican diaspora in order to promote its involvement in the national development agenda of Mozambique.

The Forum was attended by 40 members of the Mozambican diaspora from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, along with 15 Mozambican diplomatic officials from embassies abroad.

“We hope that this dialogue between the diaspora and government leads to the creation of a policy that can attract more diaspora members to invest in the country,” said Helena Igreja, a representative of the Mozambican diaspora in East Timor.

“We have waited for a very long time to have this opportunity to interact with the government in order to give our contribution for the drafting of sustainable initiatives for our engagement in the development of the country,” said Ademiro Sergio Maluleke, a representative of the Mozambican diaspora in South Africa.

This forum built on lessons learned during an IOM-sponsored diaspora study tour to Ethiopia, where INACE visited and interacted with its Ethiopian counterpart to learn from its success in involving the diaspora in the development of the country.

“Each one of us present at this meeting will have to relay this critical discussion; it is our responsibility to pass the word about these ideas to other Mozambicans who did not get the chance to be here,” said Bento Respeito Sorrota, a representative of the Mozambican diaspora in France.

The forum hopes to create a sustainable diaspora network and partnerships with the Mozambican government. Key next steps are the establishment of formal communication and collaboration between the diaspora associations and embassies in countries of destination, along with outreach to the diaspora via an online platform where they can post inquiries about engagement opportunities.

IOM has provided capacity building and ongoing technical support to the Mozambican government to enable it to engage better with the diaspora and formalize Mozambican diaspora networks. IOM support has also ensured that diaspora networks can access information about opportunities that they can be involved in, for the further development of Mozambique.

Further information and for the online platform please see: www.inace.gov.mz and https://www.facebook.com/mocambicanosnoexterior/?ref=settings

For further information please contact Jason Theede at IOM Mozambique, Tel: +258 823 357 002, Email: jtheede@iom.int