Many attended the Connecting Diaspora for Development Event organized by IOM and hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in The Hague on 16 March. Members of the Iraqi diaspora community in the Netherlands were informed about opportunities to contribute to the development of Iraq by means of knowledge transfer or through entrepreneurship. Diaspora professionals have a lot of potential to contribute to the development of their country of origin.
After a word of welcome from H.E. Dr. Hisham AL-Alawi, Ambassador of Iraq to the Netherlands, Zia Gulam (IOM NL) and Naba AL-Nahi from IOM Iraq informed the audience about IOM’s Connecting Diaspora for Development (CD4D) project.
Dr. Sadeq Hashim Fadhil AL-Mamoori, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Iraq Chambers of Commerce presented the current business and investment climate in Iraq. Educational specialist Soza Gaffaf shared her experiences of her CD4D assignment in Erbil aimed at supporting children to effectively deal with fears and anxieties. Hugo Brouwer from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Iraq informed the audience about the priorities of the Dutch government regarding diaspora engagement, which was followed by closing words from IOM NL Chief of Mission Antonio Polosa about IOM’s global role in mobilizing diaspora.
For information about the CD4D project in Iraq, please click here
