Strengthening cooperation in the fields of employment and migration was at the heart of talks held on Thursday in Porto between Morocco’s Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment, and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, and Portuguese Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security, Rosário Palma Ramalho.
The meeting, organized as part of the Porto Social Forum, provided an opportunity to review the regulatory framework governing employment and migration between the two countries, while exploring new avenues of collaboration to meet the evolving needs of businesses and workers.
Both sides discussed the mobilization of technical teams in the coming weeks to implement a worker mobility program that responds to the expectations of Portuguese companies and the aspirations of Moroccan workers. The ministers emphasized the importance of creating an organized framework that ensures balanced guarantees for both employees and employers, while also preserving Morocco’s need for skilled national talent across key sectors.
Sekkouri highlighted Morocco’s successful experience with Spain in managing seasonal migration through four-year visas, which has offered stability for workers and provided companies with a skilled and reliable workforce.
For her part, Minister Ramalho reaffirmed Portugal’s readiness to welcome Moroccan investment, underlining the importance of expanding bilateral economic cooperation beyond migration-related issues.
The two officials agreed to develop a joint action plan to study the possibility of replicating the Morocco-Spain model, with the aim of promoting professional integration and advancing the shared interests of both Rabat and Lisbon.
