Morocco Struggles to Tap Diaspora’s Expertise for National Development

"The Moroccan skills of the world represent an invaluable human capital (intellectual, financial, social, cultural and entrepreneurial) and a vast reservoir of experiences and know-how for Morocco. The mobilization of Moroccan skills abroad is a decisive issue for Morocco, as it allows to strengthen the links between the diaspora and the country of origin, to stimulate innovation and creativity, to promote international cooperation and to contribute to the economic and social development of the country," said Abdelkhalek Hassini, speaker and professor of Spanish at the Academy of Versailles and president of the "CADOriental Europe" Association in an interview with Finances News Hebdo.

According to him, Moroccans of the world (MDM), "highly qualified", can contribute significantly to the development of many sectors such as entrepreneurship, investment, research and development, medicine, health, fair trade, new technologies... Unfortunately, they constitute "generally underutilized resources and are not always well integrated into territorial and regional development policies." To maximize their contribution, the expert proposes to "explore the opportunities offered by the MDM to support development policies and projects in Morocco."

In detail, "it is necessary to set up programs that promote their active participation and commitment in economic, social and cultural development projects, to create a favorable environment for entrepreneurship in Morocco by offering tax incentives and facilitating access to financing, to understand the issues related to the adoption of the MDM for sustainable development in Morocco, to properly identify the opportunities and challenges related to the implementation of the MDM in the various key sectors of the Moroccan economy, to promote the creation of business incubators to encourage MDM entrepreneurship and facilitate the launch of new innovative projects," continues Abdelkhalek Hassini.

In his speech of August 20, 2022, King Mohammed VI called for a more effective involvement of Moroccan skills in the world in the development of the kingdom. According to the speaker, the implementation of this vision involves, among other things, "the creation of dedicated structures and the establishment of a dialogue" with the MDM who face various difficulties (geographical distance, linguistic and cultural barriers, administrative problems, lack of trust and recognition, etc.) "to share their know-how and expertise with their country of origin" and thus help strengthen "university" and "decentralized" cooperation.