Event

National Consultation Seminar on assessing the economic contribution of labour migration in Rwanda (ECLM project)

A National Consultation Seminar was held in Kigali on September 25, 2015, and brought together 35 policymakers, government officials and experts to discuss on various aspects of the role of migrant workers in Rwanda, in the context of the "Assessing the economic contribution of labour migration in developing countries as countries of destination" (ECLM) project. The agenda for this meeting can be downloaded below.

Held in Kigali on 25 September 2015, the National Consultation Seminar was the first in-country event in Rwanda for the EU-funded project “Assessing the Economic Contribution of Labour Migration in Developing Countries”, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service and Labour.

The seminar brought together 35 policymakers, government officials and experts. Opening statements were made by Mr Lahmin Manneh, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Rwanda; Mr Michael Ryan, Ambassador, European Union Delegation to the Republic of Rwanda; and Hon. Judith Uwizeye, Minister, Ministry of Public Service and Labour.

The project was presented by the project team (Mr Jesse Mertens and Mr David Khoudour), which was followed by presentations and reflections on migration policies and on data and research on labour migration to Rwanda. The first session was moderated by MrAnthony Rutabanzibwa, ILO Country Office for the United Republic of Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The second session on existing research and project priorities was moderated by Mr David Khoudour, OECD Development Centre.

The seminar generated rich discussions on the characterization and role of migrant workers in Rwanda. Issues relating to human capital and skills deficits, labour shortages, and dependence of particular economic sectors on migrant workers were discussed.
Participants noted the importance of enabling immigrant entrepreneurship, while at the same time it was observed that existing migration policies would benefit from an empirical evidence-base, particularly in the light of Rwanda’s recent implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol.