Burkina Faso-IOM: Ouagadougou wants to align migration cooperation with its national priorities

Burkina Faso and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) intend to strengthen their cooperation around national priorities in migration management. This direction was at the heart of a meeting granted on Friday, October 23, 2026, in Ouagadougou, to the IOM Chief of Mission, David Coomber, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré.

During this meeting, David Coomber presented a report on his first year of mission in Burkina Faso. During this period, the organization collaborated with several ministerial departments to improve migration management, notably through the rehabilitation and equipping of border posts, as well as awareness-raising activities aimed at promoting coexistence between migrants and local populations in transit areas.

IOM's interventions also focused on promoting youth employment and strengthening the resilience of populations.
Beyond this assessment, discussions focused on ways to strengthen the partnership between the UN organization and Burkina Faso. The Burkinabe Foreign Minister invited the IOM to better align its interventions with the national development plan and the government's priorities.

Commending the actions carried out on the ground, Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré encouraged the organization to continue its efforts to change perceptions on migration and ensure more dignified treatment of migrants.

Cooperation should continue with further visits by IOM officials to Burkina Faso, in order to gain firsthand knowledge of the realities on the ground and to examine prospects for collaboration.

Djamila Kambou