IOM and the Arab Labour Organization (ALO) will launch on 19 April
at the Arab League a comprehensive and up-to-date report on intra
regional labour mobility in the Arab World.

The report, part of a joint project between the IOM and the ALO
to assist countries in the Arab region to effectively manage human
and labour mobility, finds that 5.8 out of 13 million Arab migrants
worldwide reside in the region. 

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target="_blank" title="">Intra-Regional Labour Mobility in the
Arab World

It underlines that the migration corridor between Mashreq
(Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territory, Syria, and Yemen)
and the Arab Gulf remains the most significant one, with two in
three migrants from the Mashreq and Yemen working in countries of
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). 

Furthermore, the report finds that Arab countries received an
estimated USD 35.1 billion in remittance inflows, marking a 6.6 per
cent decline from 2008, mostly due to the effects of the financial
crisis.

Nevertheless, the Arab region remains a major origin of
remittance outflows, with almost USD 31 billion being sent by
foreign workers in 2008.

For countries like Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, the total amount
of remittances received from these expatriates are 40 to 190 per
cent higher than the revenues made from trade between these same
countries and the rest of the region.

This, according to the report, indicates that intra-regional
labour mobility is one of the major drivers of development and
socio-economic integration of the Arab region.

The report also finds that these positive aspects could be
better harnessed through the reinforcement of existing labour
mobility management systems and making them more flexible to better
respond to challenges such as growing young populations, high
unemployment rates, the emergence of irregular and unsafe migration
practices and widening regional development and employment
differentials.

It concludes with a set of recommendations, including on the
need to foster international cooperation and policy dialogue
between sending and receiving Arab countries.  

The launch of the report will be followed by a three-day
workshop on labour migration from the 20 to 22 April.

The workshop will be attended by government officials from 20
Arab countries and representatives from regional organizations such
as the League of Arab States and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The
objective of the workshop is to share and discuss technical aspects
of labour mobility and how they apply to the findings of the
report. IOM and ALOE representatives will facilitate the workshop,
which will focus on a variety of topics including tools for the
facilitation of labour migration, migration and development and
mechanisms to identify future practical initiatives to enhance the
positive impact of labour migration policies in the Arab
region.

The report is available online at "paragraph-link-no-underline-bold" href=
"http://www.egypt.iom.int/Doc/ALO-IOM%20report%20on%20Intra-regional%20labour%20mobility%20English.pdf"
target="_blank" title="">this link.

For further information, please contact:

Roberto Pitea

IOM Cairo

Tel: +2 02 23580011

E-mail: "mailto:rpitea@iom.int">rpitea@iom.int