Bissau – More than 100 representatives from Government, civil society organizations and international humanitarian and development organizations participated in the Diaspora Forum organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on January 28 – 29.

During the two-day forum held under the theme “Conference on Migration: Guinea-Bissau and their diaspora”, IOM presented recent studies on diaspora priorities in Europe and the Bissau-Guinean migration profile. IOM also facilitated conversations around the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration and the Sustainable Development Goals for the people of Guinea-Bissau and their diaspora.

“It is fundamental to support the government of Guinea-Bissau to initiate a dialogue with its own diaspora and develop a road map for future cooperation and partnership. This can only be achieved by supporting the National Action Plan on the Global Compact for Migration and the Sustainable Development Goals”, said Laura Amadori, IOM Head of Office in Guinea-Bissau.

For diaspora members, returning home can be difficult, especially when their home country experienced major socio-political changes. Lack of communication and return channels between Government authorities and diaspora members can further complicate return, and many diaspora members underlined the need to have specific reforms to facilitate their return home.

“We need more support and have to find solutions so that we do not face extra hurdles. We want to come back home and contribute to the development of the country, but administrative procedures hinder us from doing exactly that” said a member of the diaspora during the Forum.

The two-day forum highlighted the Bissau-Guinean government’s commitment to developing a closer relationship with the Bissau-Guinean diaspora. It is important for the diaspora to foster local development in Guinea-Bissau not solely resulting from remittances, but also involve options for knowledge transfers, while the government identifies avenues to facilitate services for diaspora members living far from their country of origin.

“Migration is immensely important to us in Guinea-Bissau and this forum will dynamize our engagement with our diaspora”, said Ambassador João Soares da Gama on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

IOM supported the Diaspora Forum through the project “Bridging youth, diaspora, and local authorities for an integrated approach to promote employment and address irregular migration” funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS).

For more information, please contact Sandro Tavares Moreira at IOM Guinea-Bissau. Email: stmoreira@iom.int.