This Observatory was created at the proposition of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, May God assist Him, in His capacity as African Leader on the issue of migration, on the occasion of the 30th African Union Summit held in January 2018.

The Observatory will be an effective tool to the African continent, allowing it to provide better knowledge, understanding and control of the migratory phenomenon and to develop data collection, analysis and exchange between all African countries.

Covering different sub-regions and African countries, an interconnected database will help improve the situation of migrants and enhance the migration-development nexus.

At the end of the inauguration ceremony, MFA Bourita declared, during a joint press briefing, that the African Migration Observatory, which must ensure a "triple function" of understanding, anticipation and proposal, is the fruit of two years of hard work and fruitful collaboration with the African Union Commission.

MFA Bourita affirmed that this inauguration happens at a good time since it coincides with the International Migrants Day, noting that it sends a strong message to the international community on the determination of Morocco and Africa to establish a better migration governance continentally.

MFA Bourita added said that this is the first body of the African Union that Morocco hosts and welcomed the creation of an Observatory specific to "our continent" to advance migration governance.

The African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, Ms. Amira El Fadil expressed on behalf of all Africans on the continent, her "deep gratitude" to His Majesty King Mohammed VI and to the Kingdom for the support and resources made available to the observatory, stressing that "without this support, the inauguration of this observatory which will become a center of excellence at the international level would not have taken place".

The Observatory embodies the beginning of joint efforts to provide balanced and adapted data tailored to Africa's migration needs, stressed Ms. El Fadil, indicating that well-managed migration will improve the social and economic development of both, the country of origin and the host country.

For a comprehensive management system of migration in Africa, Ms. El Fadil also announced that the Commission was working to set up two specialized integrated agencies for the African Union, namely the African Center for Studies and Research on migration to be established in Bamako, Mali, and the planned Continental Operations Center in Khartoum, Sudan.