Libya – The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) facilitated a technical meeting in the framework of the cooperation on labour migration between the State of Libya and the Republic of Niger. The meeting, which was generously supported by the French Government, was held in Istanbul, Tukey between 11 and 14 October 2022.

The meeting aimed to create a platform that allowed representatives from the two countries to exchange ideas on the necessary conditions to move the process forward towards the successful implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on labour mobility signed in November 2021.

“This dialogue that IOM is facilitating between Libya and Niger is extremely valuable for legal, safe and orderly migration between the two countries.” Said Federico SODA, Chief of Mission of IOM Libya. “I hope at the end of this dialogue, a clear roadmap with concrete steps to be taken for the implementation of the MoU will be developed. IOM will fully stand by to support.”

“Since the signing of the MoU in November 2021, Niger has put in place a committee to follow up on its implementation. We believe that the meeting discusses key conditions to move the process forward and that we will work in the spirit of solidarity and cooperation”, said Malam Moussa Malam, Secretary General, Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Protection and part of the Nigerien delegation

The signed MoU of the two countries touches on seven essential dimensions of labour mobility between Libya and Niger: the recruitment of workers, the working conditions, social security, the transfer of savings, travel and mobility-related costs, repatriation of workers and the mechanism for monitoring the MoU’s implementation.

Delegates from Niger and Libya also had the opportunity to consolidate and jointly approve the action plan which will constitute the roadmap of the MoU’s implementation, and to discuss diverse aspects which will be important to move the process forward. The agreement reached between parties will improve workers’ conditions and facilitate safe and legal labour mobility pathways.

The two countries currently do not have a bilateral agreement on social security; therefore, this meeting was also an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a process leading to the development of this key instrument.

“All discussions were conducted with a high level of professionalism between the two parties. We were able to discuss all the terms of the memorandum of understanding […].” Said Dr. Adel Ali Al-Uqbi, Advisor to the Libyan Minister of Labour and Director of the International Cooperation Office “We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Libyan mission of the International Organization for Migration, for facilitating this meeting.”

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For more information please reach out to:

Giacomo TERENZI at gterenzi@iom.int – M&E and Public Information Officer

Chalank YAHYA at cyahya@iom.int – Labour Mobility and Social Inclusion Programme Manager