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New Year’s Reception 2024
Deutscher Bundestag | Jakob-Kaiser-Haus | 21. February 2024 18.00 – 20.00
(Event languages: German/French)
The EMA and its partners work tirelessly to promote and foster cooperation between different actors from the Mediterranean and Middle East region in practice. We are therefore all the more delighted to have Dr. Karamba Diaby, Member of the German Bundestag, as patron of the New Year’s Reception 2024.
With the Association of Tunisian Women Engineers ATFI and the largest independent Tunisian business association CONECT, we also have two strong local partners in North Africa who will be guests in Berlin in February. Together with Dr Diaby and the new board members of ATFI and CONECT, we want to talk about skilled workers in the fields of IT, digitalization and engineering as well as the relevance of the German-Tunisian and German-Arab partnership.
The event is supported by sequa gGmbH as part of the special initiative “Good Employment for Socially Just Change” of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Under the Invest for Jobs brand, the special initiative has bundled a range of offers to support German, European and African companies in their employment-creating activities in Africa.
EMA Annual Reception 2024 in a unique atmosphere
In the heart of democracy
The EMA organized its 2024 Annual Reception at a unique venue. In the extraordinary atmosphere of the German Bundestag, it brought together more than 70 high-ranking representatives from business, diplomacy and politics. The event took place on 21 February 2024 under the patronage of Dr Karamba Diaby, Member of the German Bundestag and member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development.
“We not only connect regions, but also the people”
In addition to networking and discussions between the guests, the reception centered around several short speeches. EMA Secretary General Clara Gruitrooy welcomed the guests and emphasized the importance of the EMA at a time when the exchange was only becoming more important. “We not only connect regions, but also people.” In his welcome address, Dr Diaby linked this claim to the venue: “Welcome to the heart of democracy!”
Dr. Diaby was followed by Aslan Berjeb, the newly elected president of CONECT, Tunisia’s largest independent business association. He appealed to the Germans: “Mutual understanding is one of the main factors for investment in the country. Continue to trust Tunisians.”
The atmosphere was characterised by mutual respect and interest, which underlined the long-standing exchange and economic cooperation between Germany and Tunisia. Known for his commitment to intercultural and international cooperation, Dr Diaby also emphasised the importance of mutual partnerships: “Partnerships live from exchanging ideas.” And Mrs Gruitrooy added: “We should not give one-way speeches.” All sides benefit from these partnerships.
Brain circulation instead of brain drain
The speeches focussed on the shortage of skilled workers in Germany. Nadia Lamloum, board member of the Association of Tunisian Women Engineers (ATFI), finally drew attention to the challenges and the need to keep Tunisian talent in the country: “We are suffering significantly from the brain drain. We are making considerable efforts to keep men and women here.”
Dr Diaby advocated a pragmatic approach to the mobility of skilled workers. In order to emphasize the opportunities and benefits of the migration of skilled workers, he preferred to use the words “brain circulation”. Germany needs 400,000 skilled workers per year. The Skilled Labour Immigration Act is one answer to this, although the requirements for suitability would have to be carefully scrutinized.
Strengthening the Euro-Mediterranean partnership
The event provided a valuable framework for exchange on important topics such as economic cooperation, skilled labour migration and investment opportunities. The EMA would like to thank all participants, speakers and partners for their contributions and support.
There is no need to fear for the future: The EMA and its ambitious network of member companies and partner organisations had a lively exchange of ideas and made plans for future Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.
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