Rabat Symposium Explores Moroccan Diaspora’s Role in National Development

Organized by the Rabat municipal council and the ASLI and A2G associations (France), in partnership with the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), this first edition meeting was an opportunity for the Mayor of Rabat, Asmaa Rhlalou, and the Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and the Family, Aawatif Hayar, to emphasize the considerable contribution of Moroccans living abroad to the development of Morocco.

The two officials and the various panelists reminded the 250 participants "of the many achievements and the path traveled alongside Moroccans living abroad in accordance with the guidelines of His Majesty Mohammed VI, while calling for even more to be done". For her part, the Mayor of Rabat has committed "to soon implement a one-stop shop for the diaspora at the Town Hall level in order to facilitate and unleash all the potential", indicate the organizers in a joint press release.

Presenting the results of a study conducted in July on the profiling of the Moroccan diaspora, and mainly of Moroccans living abroad from Rabat, Samir Bouzidi, CEO of Impact Diaspora, a leading startup in Africa in ethnomarketing and 2.0 mobilization (via digital, data, etc.), indicated that Moroccan skills are concentrated in the ICT, education and research, financial services and health sectors.

In countries like Spain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Moroccans living abroad are more present in tourism, consulting and trade (consumer goods), specifies the expert who has invited the authorities in charge of the public strategy for mobilizing Moroccans living abroad "to further integrate the potential of digital to refine the knowledge of the "MRE mosaic" and better mobilize individual and collective contributions".