African Ambassadors Labour Mobility Summit 3.0
19 September 2025 | Berlin
On 19 September 2025, GAaNF hosted the third edition of the African Ambassadors Labour Mobility Summit in Berlin, together with the 360° Alliance, the German Africa Foundation (DAS) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).
The annual summit brings together key actors from Germany and African states to deepen cooperation on skilled labour migration and to reflect on how migration frameworks work in practice.
The 2025 summit focused on “Building transparency and trust in migration agreements between Germany and African states.” Discussions centred on how fair, predictable, and sustainable migration agreements can respond both to Germany’s growing demand for skilled workers and to the aspirations and rights of qualified African professionals.
The 2025 summit focused on “Building transparency and trust in migration agreements between Germany and African states.”
Discussions centred on how fair, predictable, and sustainable migration agreements can respond both to Germany’s growing demand for skilled workers and to the aspirations and rights of qualified African professionals.
Dialogue across institutions and sectors
The summit served as a platform for exchange between representatives from politics and public administration, civil society, trade unions, the private sector, African diaspora organisations, and diplomatic missions. The diversity of perspectives made it possible to address labour migration not as a narrow policy issue, but as a shared responsibility that requires coordination across institutions and borders.
The opening session featured contributions from Sabine Odhiambo (German Africa Foundation), Dr. Henrik Maihack (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung) and Akinola Famson (GAaNF & 360° Alliance). The welcoming address was delivered by H.E. Stella Mokaya Orina, Ambassador of Kenya, who underlined the importance of partnerships based on equality and mutual respect. Two keynote speeches followed: Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, spoke about future perspectives for labour migration between Africa and Germany, while H.E. Dr. Mohamed Abd El-Sattar Elbadri, Ambassador of Egypt, addressed migration agreements between African states and individual German federal states.
The first panel, “Transparency and Trust in Migration Agreements – Challenges and Solutions,” brought together speakers from government, business, foundations and trade unions. The discussion highlighted both structural challenges and concrete approaches to improving communication, accountability and coherence in labour migration policy.
A second panel focused on the role of civil society, trade unions, diaspora organisations and embassies in shaping and accompanying migration agreements. Speakers discussed how non-state actors can contribute to fair recruitment practices, decent working conditions and mutual benefits for countries of origin and destination. The panel was moderated by Akinola Famson (GAaNF & 360° Alliance).
In the afternoon, three parallel workshops allowed for more in-depth, practice-oriented discussions. Key themes included:
- Political frameworks and clear guidelines for legal migration pathways
- Fair inclusion of the interests of all parties in migration agreements
- Ethical labour migration as a prerequisite for protecting human and labour rights
- The need for a holistic approach, from countries of origin through long-term integration in Germany
- The indispensable role of the diaspora in developing policies that respond to the real needs of young skilled workers
Key takeaways
Across panels and workshops, a shared understanding emerged: labour migration agreements can only be sustainable if they are transparent, rights-based, and developed in close dialogue with all stakeholders involved. The summit concluded with the presentation of workshop results and joint recommendations for action, followed by networking and informal exchange.
GAaNF and its partners will continue to build on these discussions in future editions of the summit, with the aim of contributing to fair and trustworthy labour migration frameworks between Germany and African states.
Watch the livestream
The full live stream of the summit is available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWc94CYnH1A
Further reading
