This document outlines the itinerary and agenda for a Migration Strategy Group study tour in Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco from February 23-27, 2014. The tour includes meetings with government officials from the Ministry of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, and the National Employment and Skills Promotion Agency of Morocco (ANAPEC). Participants will also visit the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca and discuss Morocco's economic development, migration policy, EU mobility partnerships, diaspora engagement, training and skills development programs. The tour aims to provide an overview of Morocco's approach to migration issues.

1. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23
AFTERNOON ARRIVAL OF
PARTICIPANTS IN RABAT
18:45 – 19:45 OPENING RECEPTION
LA MAISON ARABE, LA TOUR HASSAN
WELCOME: Dr. Ingrid Hamm, Chief Executive
Officer, Robert Bosch Stiftung; Mr. Ivan Vejvoda,
Vice President Programs, German Marshall Fund;
Mr. Tobias Billström, Minister for Migration and
Asylum Policy in Sweden, and Chair Migration
Strategy Group
OFFICIAL REMARKS: Dr. Assia Bensalah Alaoui,
Ambassador at Large, Kingdom of Morocco
19:45 – 21:00 WELCOME DINNER
RESTAURANT LA MAISON ARABE, LA TOUR HASSAN
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24
RABAT
DRESS CODE: business casual
07:00 – 08:45 BREAKFAST BUFFET
LA TOUR HASSAN
09:00 – 10:00 OVERVIEW: MIGRATION
STRATEGY GROUP STUDY TOUR PROGRAM
ROOM PANORAMIQUE, LA TOUR HASSAN
SPEAKERS: Ms. Ottilie Bälz, Head of Section
Society and Culture, Robert Bosch Stiftung; Ms.
Astrid Ziebarth, Director, Immigration and
Integration, German Marshall Fund; Dr. Steffen
Angenendt, Senior Associate, Stiftung Wissenschaft
und Politik and Senior Advisor, Migration Strategy
Group; Ms. Tamar Jacoby, President and CEO,
ImmigrationWorks USA and Senior Advisor,
Migration Strategy Group
10:00 – 11:00 ECONOMIC & SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT ISSUES IN CURRENT
MOROCCO
SPEAKERS: Mr. Nizar Baraka, President, Economic,
Social, and Environmental Council; Mr. Karim
El Aynaoui, Advisor to CEO and Chairman, OCP
Foundation
11:00 – 11:15 COFFEE BREAK
11:15 – 12:30 MOROCCAN MIGRATION
POLICY & INVOLVEMENT OF PRIVATE
SECTOR
SPEAKERS: Ms. Anke Strauss, Head of Mission,
International Organization for Migration (IOM) in
Rabat; Dr. Abdel Ben-Khaled, Managing Director
and COO, Region Morocco, LEONI Wiring Systems
12:50 MEET IN HOTEL LOBBY FOR
TRANSFER TO LUNCH; PLEASE BRING
YOUR PASSPORT
13:30 – 14:30 LUNCH AT VILLA
MANDARINE
14:30 – 15:30 RETURNING TO
MOROCCO: DIASPORA ENGAGEMENT AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
SPEAKERS: Ms. Fatim-Zahra Biaz, New Work Lab
Casablanca; Mr. Rachid El Boury, nFORMAtec
15:45 – 16:15 TRANSFER TO EU
DELEGATION TO MOROCCO
16:30 – 18:00 EU MOBILITY
PARTNERSHIPS: A TRIPLE WIN MODEL?
WELCOME: Mr. Rupert Joy, EU Ambassador to
Morocco
SPEAKERS: Ms. Veronique Janssen, Political
Advisor; Ms. Corinne Andre, Head of Governance
Section
On June 7, 2013, the Kingdom of Morocco and
the European Union signed the EU-Morocco
mobility partnership agreement that establishes a
set of political objectives and provides for a series
of initiatives related to the movement of persons.
Next to matters related to irregular migration and
asylum, measures include negotiations between
the EU and Morocco on facilitation of visas for
students, researchers, and business professionals. It
is also meant to improve the information available
to qualified Moroccan citizens on employment,
education, and training opportunities available
in the EU and to make mutual recognition of
professional and university qualifications easier.
18:00 – 18:30 TRANSFER TO HOTEL
19:15 – 19:30 MEET IN LOBBY FOR
TRANSFER TO RESTAURANT LE ZYRIAB
19:30 – 21:00 DINNER AT LE ZYRIAB
MOROCCO STUDY TOUR
February 23-27, 2014
Rabat & Casablanca
MIGRATION
STRATEGY GROUP
ON GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
> > >

2. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25
RABAT & CASABLANCA
DRESS CODE: business attire
07:00 – 07:45 BREAKFAST BUFFET
07:45 – 08:15 DROP OFF LUGGAGE
AND HOTEL CHECK OUT
08:30 – 09:00 TRANSFER TO MINISTRY
OF MOROCCANS LIVING ABROAD AND
MIGRATION AFFAIRS
09:00 – 10:30 MEETING AT MINISTRY
OF MOROCCANS LIVING ABROAD AND
MIGRATION AFFAIRS
SPEAKERS: Mr. Anis Birou, Minister of
Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs;
Cabinet Members (TBC)
The Ministry of Moroccans Living Abroad and
Migration Affairs’ mission is to preserve the
relationship between Moroccans residing abroad
and their country of origin. It aims at protecting
the interests of the Moroccan community abroad,
at promoting investments of the diaspora in
their origin country but also in cooperating with
skilled migrants for the further development of
the Kingdom. The mandate of the Ministry was
recently broadened to develop and implement a
new migration policy that for the first time also
explicitly addresses immigration to Morocco,
including strategies for the integration of permanent
immigrants and regularization of irregulars.
10:30 – 11:00 TRANSFER TO MINISTRY
OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND COOPERATION
11:00 – 12:30 MEETING AT MINISTRY
OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND COOPERATION
SPEAKERS: Ms. Mbarka Bouaida, Minister
Delegate; Mr. Mustapha El Bouazzoui, Director
of Consular and Social Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
is in charge of coordinating the relations of the
Kingdom with the European Union and notably
of the negotiations and implementation of the EU
mobility partnership.
12:30 – 13:00 TRANSFER TO
RESTAURANT AL MARSA
13:00 – 14:00 LUNCH AT AL MARSA
14:00 – 14:30 TRANSFER TO
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION AND
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
14:30 – 15:30 MEETING WITH
THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION AND
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
15:30 – 16:00 TRANSFER TO THE OFFICE
FOR THE PROMOTION OF VOCATIONAL
TRAINING AND WORK (OFPPT)
16:00 – 17:30 TRAINING AND SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT IN MOROCCO - OFFICE
FOR THE PROMOTION OF VOCATIONAL
TRAINING AND WORK (OFPPT)
SPEAKERS: Mr. Larbi Bencheikh, Director
General; Mr. Said Kohen, Head of the Division for
Cooperation
The Office for the Promotion of Vocational Training
and Work (Office de la Formation Professionelle et de
la Promotion du Travail-OFPPT) is Morocco’s public
institution in charge of professional training and skills
development and was created in 1974. Its activities
are implemented through a network of 329 training
centers throughout the Kingdom, offering more than
105 types of qualifications to around 340 000 trainees
in 2013. It cooperates with both public and private
partners, including cooperation on international
partnerships.
17:30 – 19:00 TRANSFER TO
CASABLANCA AND CHECK IN AT SOFITEL
LA TOUR BLANCHE
20:15 – 20:30 TRANSFER TO RICK’S
CAFÉ
20:30 – 22:00 DINNER AT RICK’S CAFÉ
Rick’s Café was established by Kathy Kriger,
an American diplomat who originally came to
Morocco in 1998. It mirrors the mythical saloon
from the 1942 film “Casablanca” with architectural
and decorative details reminiscent of the film and
has since become one of Casablanca’s best known
restaurants.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26
CASABLANCA
DRESS CODE: business casual
07:00 – 08:45 BREAKFAST
8:50 MEET IN HOTEL LOBBY; PLEASE
BRING YOUR PASSPORT
09:00 – 09:30 TRANSFER TO NATIONAL
EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS PROMOTION
AGENCY OF MOROCCO (ANAPEC)
09:30 – 11:00 INTERNATIONAL
RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND
MATCHING - ANAPEC
SPEAKERS: Mr. Hafid Kamal, Director General;
Mr. Oussama Lakhmiri, Head of Prospecting
and Marketing; Ms. Selima Bensalem, Head of
Division for Employers Abroad
The National Employment and Skills Promotion
Agency of Morocco (ANAPEC), is a public
institution created in 2000. It supports potential
employers and job seekers in various steps of
the employment process, including recruitment,
selection and matching. It also supports
employees’ skills and career development to
better accommodate the needs of Morocco’s labor
market and to combat unemployment. Through
its international placement division, a department
originally established through MEDA funds of the
European Union, it is active in the recruitment and
project based placement of Moroccans with different
countries, including France, Spain, Qatar, Canada
and Saudi Arabia.
11:00 – 11:30 TRANSFER TO
RESTAURANT LE CABESTAN OCEAN VIEW
11:30 – 12:30 CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES OF INTERNATIONAL
RECRUITMENT IN PRACTICE
SPEAKER: Ms. Dianna Lifanica, Employment
Specialist/Trainer and licensed international
recruiter for Canada
12:30 – 14:00 LUNCH AT RESTAURANT
LE CABESTAN OCEAN VIEW
14:00 – 15:00 SITE VISIT: MOSQUE
HASSAN II
Built partly on land and partly on a platform
over the Atlantic Ocean, the Mosque Hassan II
in Casablanca was completed in 1993. It is one
of the largest Mosques in the world and with 201
meters its minaret is the world’s tallest and its 9
hectars of space can welcome 105,000 worshipers.
Its architecture unites modernity and tradition,
combining elements of new technology with the
traditional craft of artisans, and materials from the
entire Kingdom.
15:00 – 15:15 TRANSFER TO HOTEL
15:30 – 16:30 CLOSING DISCUSSION
AND REVIEW OF STUDY TOUR
19:00 – 19:30 TRANSFER TO
RESTAURANT LE 25 CASABLANCA
19:30 – 21:00 CLOSING DINNER
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27
MORNING DEPARTURES