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Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expartiates Nasser Bourita, stated on Tuesday that the Group of Friends on Sport and Migration, launched officially by Morocco and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is meant to be a “structured coalition to convert shared vision into actionable policy.”
“This initiative stems from a clear-eyed assessment. In a world grappling with the relentless currents of human movement, we must mobilize every instrument of cohesion,” Bourita said in a remote address as part of an event held on the occasion in Geneva, as part of the 116th IOM council, noting that this group represents an acknowledgment of a tool too long relegated to the periphery of statecraft.
In this respect, the minister stated that migration is a central facet of Morocco’s development and foreign policy, noting that this approach is guided by the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI – the African Union Leader on Migration, who has consistently framed this phenomenon not as a crisis to be managed, but as a potential to be harnessed.
In accordance with this vision, Morocco has pursued, for over a decade, a human-centered migration policy, regularizing status and fostering integration.
Stressing that sport transcends language and border, the Foreign Minister noted that it is a domain where social friction is temporarily suspended, and a foundational camaraderie can be built. It is a mechanism for social inclusion, a conduit for youth engagement, a buffer against vulnerability, and a mortar for social cohesion.
“Africa, the world’s youngest continent, finds in sport a universal language of resilience and hope for its youth. It is in this spirit of shared destiny that we advance this initiative,” he said.
Noting that the international landscape is dense with dialogue, but often deficient in focused, pragmatic platforms, Bourita indicated that this Group is a platform for sustained dialogue, uniting States, institutions, federations, and civil society, as well as an incubator for pilot projects, demonstrating the tangible link between sport and successful integration.
It is also an advocate to grant political visibility to sport as a strategic component of migration governance, and a repository for shared expertise, bolstering the capacity of states to integrate this tool into their national policies, he said.
“Today, we are not simply launching another discussion platform. We are launching a dynamic –a community of action, and a shared ambition,” he emphasized, noting that this Group of Friends, based in Geneva, will work in full synergy with existing groups and initiatives focused on sport or migration; relevant multilateral processes, including the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) in 2026; as well as ongoing thematic initiatives whose work can converge with our goals.
After underlining that the African Migration Observatory, headquartered in Rabat, stands as a testament to this commitment by providing this Group with indispensable assets, namely strategic analysis, reliable data, and evidence-based research to inform collective deliberations, Morocco’s foreign minister said that the presence of our Group here in Geneva will ensure effective coordination, coherent action, and a maximization of the collective impact we seek.
Bourita urged States and partners for active engagement, calling on everyone to contribute to this body and enrich its work.
Source: map
