Morocco sets up a support programme for Moroccans returning from abroad
Assistance and support for Moroccans living abroad is a priority for the King and the Moroccan government
The Moroccan government has launched a Regional Programme for Migration Initiatives (PRIM) to support regional actors in implementing policies to support Moroccan citizens living abroad.
So far, the pilot experience has been extended to two regions of the country: the Eastern region and the Sous-Massa region.
National support strategy
This is a programme that seeks to implement social, cultural, educational and legal support for Moroccan citizens living abroad, to whom both King Mohammed VI and the country's government are dedicating various initiatives such as the National Strategy for the benefit of Moroccans living abroad.
According to the PRIM itself, the system aims to develop the capacities of regional actors in the region and provide them with greater competencies in the area of immigration and the mobilisation of Moroccans around the world.
The 13th region
Morocco's so-called '13th region' is made up of Moroccan citizens living abroad. An abstract term that seeks to include these citizens in the administrative structure of the country, which is made up of 12 regions.
The institutional and political participation of these Moroccans living abroad (known by the acronym MRE) is one of the legal and human rights achievements of the 25 years of Mohammed VI's reign, which ended on 30 July.
For the moment, the PRIM has already set up a total of six reception cells in six territorial districts in the eastern region (Driouch, Nador, Berkane, Oujda, Guercif and Figuig), which will provide support to these citizens, both for those who continue to reside in foreign countries and for those who return to Moroccan territory.
These reception cells have been set up with a participatory approach, taking into account the various integration needs of returning citizens.
The PRIM has provided the cells and the workers in charge of caring for citizens with a frame of reference for their work, as well as well-equipped offices to receive returning citizens and those who remain working and living in various countries around the world.
They have also taken care to put in place a work programme to develop the skills of the officials in charge of these cells.
Communication and dissemination
Those in charge of the plan have also developed a communication strategy, with various tools to publicise the work of these citizen attention cells and bring them closer to Moroccan migrant groups, so that they know that these advice centres are available to them.
All this work is part of a broad process of regional and regionalisation of migration policies, in particular the national strategies for Moroccans living abroad and the national strategy for migration and asylum.
It is envisaged that the process will be reinforced in a second phase through the activation and coordination of all regional actors and cells, in a fully coordinated network reaching all regions of the country, building on the experiences gathered during its implementation in the Oriental and Sous-Massa regions.
Funded by France
The PRIM is funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) and has been implemented by Expertise France for the period 2020-2025 in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad.
