The Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) will participate, on 7 and 8 May in Abidjan, in the first Ivorian Diaspora Forum, initiated by the Ministry of African Integration and Ivorians living abroad.
The CCME participation in this forum placed under the patronage of President Alassane Ouattara, falls within the framework of the cooperation between Morocco and Ivory Coast, in particular with the Ministry of African Integration and Ivorians residing abroad and the Directorate of Ivorians living abroad; reads a statement of the CCME.
The statement recalls in this regard, the ceremony chaired on January 20 in Marrakech, by HM King Mohammed VI and the president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, during which a cooperation agreement in the field of Diaspora management was signed by Messrs. Abdellah Boussouf, Secretary General of the CCME and Ally Coulibaly, Minister of African Integration and Ivorians living abroad.
The Forum of the Ivorian Diaspora is the first of its kind in Ivory Coast and aims to address the concerns of the Ivorian Diaspora in order to develop a future national policy management of Ivorians living abroad and ensure their participation in the economic and social development of their country of origin.
According to the Ivorian Ministry of African Integration and Ivorians living abroad, this forum is held in accordance with the vision of Ivory Coast to be an emerging country by 2020. An aspiration that requires a commitment from all its citizens, including those abroad, noting that for this purpose, the Head of State made a strong appeal to the Ivorian Diaspora to have their support to overcome different challenges.
Like other countries such as Morocco, Mali or Senegal, Ivory Coast has understood the role and contribution of the Diaspora in the development of their various economies, adds the same source, indicating that this Diaspora is currently estimated at about 1,240,000 people around the world, representing 5.4% of the population of Ivory Coast.
Among the missions of this forum: agree on an institutional framework for the management of Ivorians living abroad, validating the main lines of the future national policy on management of Ivorians living abroad, mobilize Ivorians abroad around issues of development and determine the terms and conditions to facilitate their return to their country of origin.
It also aims to help them learn about different jobs and investment opportunities, promote the fundamental rights of Ivorians abroad for better integration into the host countries, and to share experiences in management of diasporas of other countries.