The African Development Bank and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have taken a step forward in deepening their institutional partnership following a Deep Dive workshop held at the African Development Bank's regional office for Southern Africa in Pretoria.
The workshop, held in May 2026, was attended by senior leadership and technical experts from both institutions and aimed to identify priority areas for collaboration and a structured path forward.
The AfDB-IOM Southern Africa Deep Dive on Mobility, Resilience, and Sustainable Development in Southern Africa follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the two institutions in October 2025 and builds on senior-level engagements held in February 2026. It represents a significant step forward in the shared commitment to a systematic integration of migration and mobility considerations into development, resilience, and regional integration of investments across Southern Africa.
"People's mobility and development are inseparable," said Kennedy Mbekeani, the African Development Bank's Director General for Southern Africa. He added: "Economic development cannot advance without regional integration, and regional integration cannot advance without the movement of people to facilitate cross-border trade, investment, tourism and other services. This partnership allows us to bring together financing, policy leverage, and operational expertise to address challenges that neither institution can effectively resolve alone."
Yitna Getachew, IOM's Sub-Regional Director for Southern Africa, highlighted the need for safe and orderly movement of persons. "The numbers are staggering -- some 60 per cent of international migrants are workers, contributing to development across the world, while displacement continues to affect tens of millions on this continent. The link between mobility and development is no longer theoretical. We now have the opportunity and an obligation to act on it," he said.
The Deep Dive workshop focused on three priorities: integrating IT-enabled mobility systems in the African Development Bank's investments in transport corridors and regional value chains; enhancing responses to fragility, resilience, and climate-related displacement; and advancing labour mobility and human capital development.
Discussions also emphasised sustainable development and route-based, people-centred approaches that consider migration dynamics across entire corridors--from origin to destination--while integrating diaspora engagement and innovative financing. The discussion was moderated by the African Development Bank's Lead Economist for Southern Africa, Edward Sennoga.
The Deep Dive marks the first phase of a structured, sequenced engagement. It is designed to progress from strategic alignment to operational definition, ultimately embedding migration and mobility priorities into longer-term programming cycles.
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