The African Union Commission in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Botswana, will be hosting the 8^th Pan African Forum on Migration Forum (PAFoM8) from the 31^st October to 2^nd November, 2023 at Royal Aria Conference Centre in Tlokweng. The theme for the conference is “Bolstering Free Movement and Trade Nexus in AfCFTA: Optimizing Benefits of Migration, Labour Migration for Development” and it will be focusing on migration and trade.  Convening of the conference will contribute to the actualization of the 2023 African Union theme of “Acceleration of the AfCFTA Implementation” as adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of the African Union in February, 2023. The conference is expected to attract 300 experts from across Africa.

This conference is meant to highlight the African Union’s vision which permeates all the Agenda 2063 aspirations, Africa’s integration, free movement and trade have never been so pronounced in the Africa’s development policy frameworks. These developments have positioned the continent in a strategic mode for accelerated development to reap the economic gains including migration- human mobility-trade nexus and concomitant developmental spinoffs. Its potential to contribute to socioeconomic development is crystal clear in the documented policy and practice developmental discourse for Africa.

The conference, will, amongst others, contribute to the AU theme of the year 2023 theme “Acceleration of AfCFTA Implementation” by unpacking the linkages between the AfCFTA, Free Movement of Persons, and Migration across the continent. Emphasis will be placed on mobility of labour and skills of women and men migrant workers, as well as discuss the good examples and mechanisms through different stakeholders (countries of origin and countries of destination, civil society organizations and social partners) which can highlight benefits derived from an integrated economic development for Africa.  

The objectives of the Conference are to: Promote an improved understanding of the nexus between migration-labour migration, free movement and trade by unpacking socio-economic benefits and positive multiplier effects of this relationship;  Provide key recommendations for concrete initiatives that illustrate the nexus between trade and the free movement of people, especially labour, on the continent, and the resultant contribution to continental integration and AfCFTA implementation; Stimulate a discourse that highlight labour migration and migration-trade nexus in trade and migration as a catalyst to realize the African Economic Community single market; Advance dialogue to deconstruct barriers towards advancement of Free Movement of people in Africa;  Facilitate discussion to highlight the impact of legal identity and border management on free movement and AfCFTA; Explore digital technological advancement for gathering of accurate data and information to generate critical statistics in contexts of Free Movement, Labour Migration and Migration for development; and Engage the continental and regional Parliaments and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on facilitation of Migration, Labour Migration and Trade in AfCFTA.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Sabelo Mbokazi  |  Head of the Labour, Employment and Migration Division, African Union Commission  | Email: MbokaziS@africa-union.org

For media inquiries, please contact:

Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communication Directorate | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org

Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org  
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