The “Deep Dive” workshop, held in Pretoria, South Africa, brought together senior officials and technical experts from both institutions to map out priority areas for collaboration. The meeting builds on a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2025 and subsequent engagements earlier this year.
The initiative reflects growing recognition that migration and economic development are closely interconnected, particularly in a region where cross-border movement plays a central role in trade and labour markets.
AfDB Director General for Southern Africa Kennedy Mbekeani said mobility is essential to regional integration and growth.
“Economic development cannot advance without regional integration, and regional integration cannot advance without the movement of people,” Mbekeani said.
Mbekeani said the partnership would combine financing, policy expertise and technical capacity to address challenges that neither institution can solve alone.
From IOM’s perspective, the focus is on ensuring migration is safe, orderly and productive.
IOM Sub-Regional Director Yitna Getachew highlighted the scale and impact of migration globally and within Africa.
“Some 60% of international migrants are workers contributing to development, while displacement continues to affect millions,” Getachew said.
Getachew said the challenge now is to translate those realities into practical policy and investment action.
–AfDB/ChannelAfrica–
