in Abuja

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Yilwatda Nentawe, has said that for meaningful results to be achieved in global migration processes, the voices of youths as most affected must be included.

He said youth innovation and education are not just policy topics, but the very drivers of sustainable migration systems.

Nentawe stated this at the conclusion of the first thematic meeting of the 2025 Rabat Process while emphasising that the contribution of young people in shaping migration policies and discussions cannot be underrated.

The meeting, which brought together stakeholders from across Africa and Europe, emphasised the need to amplify youth voices in addressing the complex challenges and opportunities associated with migration.

He emphasised that migration should never be the consequence of despair, but an expression of choice, ability and vision. 

According to him, “Advancing innovation in migration governance, particularly in skill recognition and diaspora engagement. Strengthening partnership across the Rabat process family, from North to West Africa to Europe,” Yilwatda said.

Increasingly influenced by conflict, climate change and economic disparity, the minister said 80 per cent of migration remains regular, while the global narrative too often casts migration in the language of fear, making the future appear too bleak for the youths. 

“Let us give them structures. Let us give them assets. Let us give them our trust. Let us move from conversation to coordination, from policy to practice. Let us remind the world that migration, at its best, is a celebration of what we can build across borders, not what we fear beyond borders,” Yilwatda said.

Spanish Ambassador at Large for Migratory Affairs, Pilar Jimenez, said there’s a need to move from inclusion to the co-creation of a space of dialogue- the Rabat process.

She said after nearly 20 years, the meeting in Abuja has proven that the Rabat process is more useful, more needed, and more alive than ever.

“Thanks to this first participation of youth in the Rabat process. We will keep exploring ways and ways to find how to make your participation in the process more sustainable,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez also commended the youths for participating in the process and for taking the responsibility to be part of the solution.

“I think that you are not a part, you are the solution. Youth is the driver of the future, and the future just started here, in Abuja, within the Rabat process,” Jimenez said.

The theme for the 2025 first Thematic meeting is ‘Youth, education and innovation: driving the future of migration’.