DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, 6 October 2026 –Sierra Leone has reaffirmed its commitment to establishing safe, just and sustainable paths for its citizens seeking employment abroad as Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security Hon. Umaru Napoleon Koroma Esq. participated in the Second Doha Dialogue on Labour Mobility in Dar es Salaam.
Minister Koroma placed the protection of migrant workers at the centre of Sierra Leone’s labour mobility agenda when she spoke at a high-level Ministerial Roundtable on “Governing Labour Mobility for Shared Prosperity”. “The rights of the worker must follow the worker”, she emphasised, calling for more cooperation between countries of origin and destination on fair recruitment, skill development, worker protection, social security and effective implementation of bilateral labour agreements.
The United Republic of Tanzania hosted and chaired the Dialogue, bringing together ministers and senior officials from across Africa and the GCC+ region to advance practical cooperation on labour mobility.
The discussions covered setting skills and labour-market pathways, promoting decent work and fair recruitment, access to justice and health coverage, and the portability of social security benefits.
Participation in the Dialogue offers Sierra Leone an opportunity to expand legitimate overseas employment opportunities for its nationals while ensuring they are recruited properly, adequately protected, and equipped with skills that meet the demands of international labour markets.
He took the platform to urge action to translate policy commitments into concrete benefits for workers and their families, including better safeguards against exploitation and ways to ensure migrant workers receive social protection and can transfer their benefits.
Koroma’s intervention also sought to boost bilateral and multilateral labour cooperation, thereby strengthening existing partnerships with destination countries and promoting new arrangements that can generate credible job opportunities and enhance protections for Sierra Leonean workers abroad. He said labour mobility arrangements must be backed by concrete measures, including strengthened recruitment oversight, targeted skills training, and binding bilateral arrangements, to deliver results that boost incomes and enhance security for workers and their communities at home.
The Dialogue is moving from broad commitments to measurable action, and participants are expected to consider and adopt a declaration on future labour mobility cooperation. The key message from Dar es Salaam to Sierra Leone was clear: Labour mobility should not simply move people across borders, but move them toward better opportunities, greater protection, and a more secure future.
