The federal government is looking for qualified workers around the world. In Morocco, Development Minister Svenja Schulze is trying to present Germany as open to the world.

“Win-win situation”: Svenja Schulze (center) during her visit to Rabat Photo: Thomas Koehler/imago

DISCOUNT taz | The emotion in Hajar Benabass's voice is clearly audible. “I want to find a job in a hospital in Germany, where I can develop personally and professionally,” the young nurse in the black leather jacket says too loudly. On Thursday afternoon she was sitting at a large white table at the Goethe Institute in Rabat, Morocco, along with a dozen participants in a German course. The addressee of her words is Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development.

“I trained as a computer scientist. I want to study and have a career in Germany,” says Yassani Rakachi, 27 years old. And high school graduate Chaimae Boenhajra wants to start her nursing studies in Germany, ideally this year.

They have all practiced their short presentations and now present them with pride. Those who have done it receive a applause of approval from the group.

Germany urgently needs qualified workers. According to experts, about 400,000 a year would be needed to meet demand. Currently, the federal government is looking for well-trained personnel around the world. The Federal President and the Minister of Labor have just been to Vietnam. Now the Minister of Development, Svenja Schulze, and the person in charge of Integration, Reem Alabali-Radovan (both from the SPD), promote Germany during their brief visit to Morocco.

“Win-win situation”

In a meeting with Moroccan Labor Minister Younes Sekkouri, Schulze spoke of a “win-win situation”: both Germany, which receives well-trained workers, and Morocco, whose economy depends on remittances from Moroccans working abroad , should benefit from the migration of skilled workers *to the interior is dependent: these represent 8 percent of the gross domestic product.

And last but not least, the immigrants themselves should benefit: Morocco has many well-educated young people, but only a few jobs. Unemployment in the country exceeds 12 percent and among university graduates it reaches 19 percent.

In reality, language course participants study at night; That day they came at lunchtime to receive the distinguished visitor from Germany. The course is part of a pilot project for so-called pre-integration: anyone who wants to come to work in Germany should be able to prepare for life in Germany through language and orientation courses in their home country and thus make sensible use of of the long waiting time for the visa to be issued. There should also be support until after your arrival in Germany.

There is no problem with bad weather.

That day, Schulze and the Moroccan Minister of Labor inaugurated a new “Center for Migration and Development.” Together, Schulze, Sekkouri and EU Ambassador Patricia Llombart Cussac cut the red-green ribbon in the building's courtyard. These facilities have existed in Morocco since 2017.

During the Grand Coalition, people who returned to Morocco or were deported were advised here. Starting in 2023, a new task will be added: the centers will advise potential specialists and offer additional training or German courses. They operate together with the Moroccan employment agency in their facilities.

Participants are available to tell the minister their success stories. For example, a trained air conditioning technician who already has a work contract with a company in Mannheim and is waiting for a visa from him. He expects “a good salary and healthcare system. And enough money to travel,” says the young man, for whom a BMZ program also financed a language course.

A journalist asks him what he thinks of the German climate. “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes,” she replies.

The center also wants to promote advice on return on this day. But the 35-year-old participant is a little lost. He speaks bad German and English and there is no one to translate. He arrived in Dresden in 2015. His asylum application was rejected and he was deported in 2018. In 2023 he received psychosocial counseling in the Casablanca center and financial support to set up his own upholstery workshop.

However, it took two years for his application to be approved. Surrounded by journalists, he declares that he wants to stay in Morocco. With his support he can now carry out his project and earn money. He later says that he would like to return to Germany.

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Correctiv's investigation into the far-right's deportation fantasies also reached Rabat. “We do not give any space to the enemies of democracy,” Schulze assures not only the Moroccan Minister of Labor, but also Moroccan journalists. The minister highlights the large demonstrations against the right that are taking place these days in Germany. The racist plans of the AfD and company “do not correspond to what the vast majority in Germany think,” says Schulze. “Germany and German society are very hospitable,” agrees Sekkouri. “No one can say the opposite”.

In general, the meeting is characterized by mutual expressions of friendship. Sekkouri praises the visit “with a good heart.” It is “important to continue working together so closely.” Schulze speaks of “respect”, “at eye level” and “mutual trust”.

The federal government has understood that not only Morocco needs Germany, but above all Germany needs Morocco. Therefore it is not surprising that on this day a topic that is not very prestigious for the Moroccan side is avoided to the maximum, even when asked,: deportations.

Stricter deportation rules

Germany has been negotiating migration agreements with Morocco and other countries for months. It aims to facilitate labor migration and, at the same time, countries of origin should cooperate to welcome back rejected asylum seekers.

On Wednesday, the special representative for migration agreements, Joachim Stamp (FDP), announced that a “comprehensive migration partnership” had been agreed with Morocco. He's just very vague about the content. The goal is to reduce “irregular migration” and “strengthen regular and legal labor migration,” says Stamp in Rabat.

Germany deported 153 people to Morocco in 2023, with a significant increase at the end of the year. This probably has something to do with the visit that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) and Stamp made to the country at the end of October. In total, some 900 Moroccans are legally obliged to leave the country.

The Bundestag has just approved stricter deportation rules. A message that has also reached abroad. Svenja Schulze's journey aims to recover, at least a little, this image. “You are welcome to Germany,” she says before the cameras of the Moroccan television crews.