The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Germany have signed an agreement to step up reintegration support for Iraqi migrants repatriated from Germany.
The IOM and the German government have agreed to increase collaboration to support sustainable reintegration of Iraqi migrants from Germany and other European countries into their communities of origin in Iraq.
"Our goal is to cooperate with the government of Iraq as well as other stakeholders, such as IOM, to set up training courses and create jobs for hundreds of thousands of young and unemployed people inside Iraq," said Gerd Müller, the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), at a ceremony to sign the agreement in Baghdad on Sunday.
Germany: top destination for Iraqis
IOM reports that, in the first quarter of 2018, over 450 Iraqis voluntarily returned to their country of origin from Germany with the support of the UN agency in collaboration with the German government. For years Germany has been one of the top destinations for Iraqi migrants, but over the past three years over 9,000 Iraqis in the European country have opted to go back to Iraqi through IOM's voluntary repatriation program funded by the German government.
The agreement calls for IOM in Iraq and the German government to concentrate additional resources and services on those repatriated from abroad, on the return of the internally displaced and on host communities.
"This agreement underlines our shared commitment to support the continued development and reconstruction of a prosperous and stable Iraq," said Gerard Waite, IOM Iraq Chief of Mission."This framework acknowledges the vital importance of the successful reintegration of migrants in rebuilding their country," added Waite.
Building a new Iraq
The support extends to organizing the logistics of the journey, assistance with documents, medical support, financial and lodging assistance.
''Cooperation between governments and international organizations to support voluntary return and job creation for young people and those returning from the diaspora is important," said Abdulkareem Abdullah, the Iraqi Government's Undersecretary of Labor.
"Their reintegration into Iraqi society is timely as the security situation has improved. The Ministry will provide full support to reach our shared goals; resolving the current situation in Iraq requires high levels of cooperation."