Program

Countries Targeted

• Middle East, Turkey, North Africa, Europe

Partners

Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), Agence Française du Développement (AFD), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Medcities, UN Group, International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), United Cities Local Governments – Middle East West Asia (UCLG MEWA), World Bank Group.

Challenges

Syria’s neighboring countries are facing an unprecedented and protracted refugee crisis with spillover effects in Europe, in which humanitarian challenges are coupled with long-term development challenges for the Mashreq and the entire Mediterranean region. There are some 5.2 million (September 2017) registered Syrian refugees in the Mashreq and North African countries, while a significant number (970,316) has applied for asylum in Europe.

In this context, the MENA diaspora can be an important catalyst to foster cooperation, development, regional integration, and entrepreneurship in the MENA region.

Program Objective

Fostering the MENA diaspora’s economic and social engagement and strengthening networking among diaspora for development.

Selected Outcomes

• Partner Mobilized For Greater Diaspora Engagement And Networking:
  
  Consultation meetings supported networks and consensus building of partners on two different initiatives:
   
  • The MENA Virtual Diaspora Community brings together various initiatives and programs to enhance diaspora engagement through an online platform facilitating connections between the diaspora and professionals in home countries, face-to-face meetings, exchanges among diaspora and governments, and training and capacity building.
     
  • The Syrian Diaspora Initiative “Mobilizing New Markets and Investments for Syrian Refugees” develops a Syrian network to support investments, technology transfers, market identification and skills development so to enhance the development of Syrian firms outside of Syria during the conflict and inside of Syria once the reconstruction will take place. CMI supported a multi-partner event held in February 2017 in Eschborn, Germany and has facilitated the Syrian International Business Association (SIBA) supporting the implementation of its action plan.
    CMI has facilitated three meetings of the SIBA steering committee since February 2017 and supported the preparation of the first official SIBA General Assembly Meeting in July 2017.
     
• High-level regional dialogue on climate change induced migration in the Mediterranean :
  
  CMI participated in the 11th Meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of CIHEAM’s Member Countries in Tirana, Albania on September 22nd, 2016. This high-level discussion was an opportunity to convene around the mid- and long-term challenges with regards to climate change and forced migration in the Mediterranean. It notably highlighted the need for increased environmental resilience and inclusive development in rural areas as important safeguards against refugee crises and forced migration, notably in the agricultural sector.

Expected Outcomes

Consensus building and networks: strengthen Syrian diaspora association (SIBA) and interested partners through meeting facilitation.

Disseminating and mainstreaming knowledge: strengthen and enhance evidence-based knowledge on MENA diaspora.