The newly appointed International Organization for Migration (IOM) Regional Director for Southern Africa, Mr Ashraf El Nour, called on the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, on Monday morning, at the New Treasury Building, in Port Louis.
In a statement after the meeting, Mr Ashraf El Nour highlighted that the meeting was an excellent opportunity to reflect on the ongoing cooperation that Mauritius and IOM have in the field of migration and development.
The foundational basis for this cooperation, he underlined, are well established since the adoption of the migration and development plan by the Government of Mauritius in 2018. The Regional Director further stressed that since then, the IOM and the Government of Mauritius have been working together on three different tracks.
These are: Skills Development and current Transfer which is important for the country to diversify the sources of labour and for expertise within the country; Migration Data Management which is currently being revised to set up databases that would allow inter-ministerial work on migration to be conducted; and Diaspora Engagement which comprises plans of action which need to be developed so as migration can be seen as the builder of cooperation within the region.
Moving to the agency’s headquarters in Geneva, he worked as Programme Coordinator for Migration for Development and Technical Cooperation until 1998, when he became Regional Adviser for Africa and the Middle East until 2001. After working as Senior Recovery Adviser at the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Geneva-based Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, Mr El Nour returned to IOM as Special Assistant with the Office of the Director General from 2006 to 2007.
He then served in Kenya as Regional Representative for East and Central Africa, from 2007 to 2012, and as Regional Director for East and Horn of Africa from 2013.
Newly appointed IOM Regional Director meets Minister Alan Ganoo
Earlier, Mr Ashraf EI Nour, met the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail,Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr. Alan Ganoo.
In a statement after the meeting, Mr Ashraf EI Nour underlined that he discussed with the Foreign Affairs Minister, the existing and growing cooperation with the Government of Mauritius. The cornerstone of that cooperation, he recalled, is the adoption of migration and development policy.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the IOM has been working together with Mauritius in three main areas. These, he informed, include diaspora engagement, for which the OIM will help the Government to come up with an Action Plan, skills development and transfer for migrants, and providing opportunities for young people outside the country. We are also working together on Migration Data Management, he added.
The IOM Regional Director also emphasised that there is a strong commitment on the part of Government to the Global Compact for Migration. He renewed his intent to work with the Government of Mauritius, and provide technical help when required.
