Engaging the Djiboutian Diaspora through the Development of a National Strategy and Diaspora Mapping

Since the 1980s, the Republic of Djibouti has experienced increased emigration flows of its nationals. Today, the Djiboutian diaspora is estimated at around 50,000 individuals, residing mostly in Europe, Canada and North America. On 21 December 2017, for the first time, the Government of Djibouti, in collaboration with the United Nations Migration Agency (IOM) and supported by the World Bank, initiated a day dedicated to the diaspora, under the theme of "Strengthening the Role of Djiboutians Abroad in the Development of Djibouti". The day provided an opportunity to facilitate dialogue between the diaspora and members of national institutions.

In order to leverage the benefits that these migrants can bring to the development of their home country, the Republic of Djibouti intends to institutionalize their engagement with the diaspora through the development of a diaspora engagement strategy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in its role as main focal point concerning diaspora engagement, has requested IOM Djibouti's support to develop a national diaspora strategy (as well as technical support in the development of pilot initiatives for the diaspora, which is not included in this application).

This project aims to meet the expectations of Djibouti and its diaspora through the development of a strategy and a diaspora mapping exercise. Pilot diaspora initiatives are not within the scope of this project. The project is in line with Djibouti’s Accelerated Development and Employment Promotion Strategy (SCAPE), which mentions diaspora’s contribution to Djibouti's development and poverty reduction. The project is also linked to (a) IOM’s Regional Strategy (2016-2019) which sets out in Objective 1 the need to advance socio-economic wellbeing of migrants and society (b) IOM Djibouti Country Strategy (2017-2020). The baseline study on remittances in Djibouti that started in January 2018 will also feed into the strategy; and (c) IGAD’s priority to develop a regional diaspora strategy.