Ambassador Mohamed Ameur says Moroccans in Belgium constitute a “remarkable” added value for both Rabat and Brussels.
Rabat – Moroccan ambassador to Belgium Mohamed Ameur is full of praise for the contribution of the Moroccan diaspora to their host country’s socio-economic life.
In a recent interview with Belgian news outlet Le Vif L’Express, the ambassador said the presence in Belgium of a community of Moroccans “constitutes an opportunity” for the two countries
He said the Moroccan diaspora participated in a “remarkable way to the modernization of Morocco. This is the reason why the policy towards the diaspora must accompany and promote integration.”
For members of the Moroccan diaspora, meanwhile, the ambassador also emphasized the importance of keeping alive and strengthening the links to their roots and cultures of origin.
According to Belgian news outlet La Libre, the number of Moroccans residing in Belgium stood at 81,900 in 2014.
Ambassador Ameur also spoke about Morocco’s migration policy. He said Morocco has become a country of transit and reception for migrants.
“With the strengthening of border control with Europe, many sub-Saharan migrants settle permanently in our country,” he said.
He added that the development led Morocco to launch a new migration policy taking into account its national and international commitments in terms of human rights and also of the intense and ancestral links with the African continent.”
The North African country launched a new migratory policy in 2013 under King Mohammed VI’s request.
The launch enabled officials to open the Moroccan Office for Asylum and Stateless Persons, and circulars published in October 2013 and January 2014 outlined measures allowing migrant children access to education.
Morocco also launched campaigns to help undocumented migrants regularize their status to benefit from public healthcare and education services.
