On 18 October 2024, the Continent-to-Continent Migration and Mobility Dialogue (C2CMMD) held its Senior Officials' Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, convening high-level representatives from the European Union (EU) and African Union Commission (AUC), underscoring the renewed focus on strengthening EU-AU cooperation on migration issues.
The meeting was co-chaired by Ambassador Rita Laranjinha, Managing Director of the European External Action Service (EEAS), and Maemo Peter Machethe, Director of the Continental Operational Centre for Combating Irregular Migration of the African Union. They were supported by the co-chairs of the C2CMMD, Asad Beg, Senior Expert at EEAS, and Sabelo Mbokazi, Head of Division, Labour, Employment and Migration at the AUC, who guided the thematic discussion of the meeting. Representatives from the EU and the AU attended the event, highlighting the commitment to the dialogue.
Participants took stock of progress made under the Nairobi Action Points agreed upon in December 2019 and set thematic priorities for the upcoming period. Discussions evolved around topics such as remittances, return, readmission and reintegration, diaspora, information and intelligence sharing, free movement, legal pathways and migration governance. Both the EU and AUC reaffirmed their commitment to collaboration, emphasizing "People, Prosperity, and Partnership" as key pillars for a mutually beneficial approach to migration.
The meeting facilitated an essential exchange of updates and ideas on various thematic areas, such as the call to look beyond reducing remittance costs to exploring their broader impact on development, and the mutual interest to explore synergies and areas for cooperation in research, and capacity building activities, including through the involvement of the African Migration Observatory and the African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration. Deliberations also highlighted the importance of information and intelligence exchange, particularly in the context of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, within the mandate of the AU Continental Operational Centre for Combating Irregular Migration.
The meeting also launched monitoring and reporting tools, as well as the internal Online Knowledge Management Platform, aimed at fostering improved access to information and continuity in dialogue activities. With the upcoming EU-AU Ministerial in 2025 in mind, the dialogue participants committed to reviewing the Nairobi Action Points and preparing for enhanced future collaboration.
The Senior Officials’ Meeting underscored the importance of maintaining a strong, collaborative framework to address migration issues between Europe and Africa and reaffirmed the importance of the C2CMMD as a catalyst for this Dialogue, ensuring that human rights and economic development remain at the forefront of EU-AU cooperation.