The Joint High-Level Meeting of the Khartoum Process and Rabat Process gathered representatives from 53 African and European partner countries, to discuss innovative pathways for labour migration, skills development, and talent mobility. On 16-17 October 2024 in Lisbon, over 150 high-level delegates exchanged strategic ways-forward on the growing importance of labour migration, skills development and talent mobility for both Africa and Europe.
Hosted by Portugal and Egypt, representatives from the African Union Commission, the European Commission Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS), and Dialogue partner countries shared innovative programmes to address skills shortages and promote circular migration, while highlighting good practices from the respective Khartoum Process and Rabat Process regions.
Governments, businesses, civil society, and individuals must work together to build innovative pathways for skilled mobility between Africa and the EU, in which African migrants are the key agents for our shared prosperity while reducing irregular movements that benefit only the smugglers who put migrants’ lives at risksaid Johannes Luchner, Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG-HOME) of the European Commission.
As the Meeting marked a key step forward in shaping the future of EU-Africa relations in migration, the delegates yielded some significant highlights and calls for action:
- Underscoring the need for stronger cooperation on labour migration, skills mobility partnerships, bilateral agreements, and recognition of qualifications;
- Fostering partnerships to create opportunities for youth and migrants, addressing Africa's youth unemployment and Europe's labour shortages while promoting the exchange of skills, ideas, and cultures for mutual benefit;
- Highlighting the need to centre migration policies on the human experience, focusing on the dignity and journey of migrants;
- Call for balanced approach to skills development and talent retention in both continents, by incorporating legal circular migration and long-term opportunities for mutual economic growth;
- Initiatives to address skills needs and employment opportunities must prioritise the protection of workers’ rights and support their integration or reintegration; emphasising that labour migration is not solely about matching skills with jobs, but fundamentally about people.
Our greatest wealth in Africa lies in our people. When talent flows freely, empowered by mobility, it nurtures innovation, development, and prosperity. It is not enough to simply attract talent; we must ensure its movement contributes to the dignity and progress of all involvedAmbassador Dr Namira Negm, Director of African Migration Observatory, said at her keynote speech, highlighting the region’s potential in the technology and healthcare sectors, and the need for enhanced intra-African mobility.
Keynote speakers also presented in-depth analyses of talent attraction and skills mobility from both regions’ perspectives; while roundtable discussions focused on identifying the needs, priorities, challenges and opportunities on labour migration to support policy-making and strengthen cooperations. Jo Antoons from Fragomen Global highlighted Europe’s evolving strategies to attract talent, and how these efforts must align with the new EU Skills and Talent Mobility package.
In recent years, labour and skills mobility have become a central priority on the agenda of migration dialogues. The Khartoum and Rabat Processes, both EU-funded and implemented by ICMPD, have been working to strengthen partnerships and create actionable strategies to enhance talent mobility; showing how sustainable solutions to global migration challenges are achieved through cooperation and shared vision.
This meeting marks the first step in developing a reference document with joint recommendations to establish a strategic approach to labour mobility and migration management. Labour migration and legal pathways have emerged as a central issue for both Europe and Africa. By encouraging open discussion and collaboration on these crucial topics, we hope to enhance policymaking and strengthen the bonds between our two continents. Critically in our collective efforts is to ensure that the commitments made in these dialogues lead to concrete actions with a tangible impactsaid Sedef Dearing, Director for Migration Dialogues and Cooperation at ICMPD, which co-hosted the Meeting.
With funding from the European Commissions’ DG-Home since 2016, ICMPD’s Migration Partnership Facility has been supporting dialogue and cooperation on migration and mobility between EU Member States and priority partner countries outside the EU . To date, 23 EU Member States and 18 partner countries have engaged in 20 Skills and Mobility Talent Partnerships in high-demand labour areas such as IT, agriculture, construction and the Green Economy.
Ms Dearing added that the newly launched Migration and Mobility Dialogue (MMD) Grant Facility will also help translate political commitments into concrete actions by supporting targeted initiatives, building capacity, enhancing operationalisation of regional priorities, and strengthening institutional frameworks to manage migration flows more effectively.
