From 21 to 25 August 2023, IOM Uganda supported senior Ugandan Government officials to attend bilateral meetings with counterparts in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 

The visit to Jordan was part of IOM’s continuing support to the Uganda Government to review/negotiate bilateral labour migration agreements (BLMAs) with major destination countries. It was part of a project funded by the USA Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

The Ugandan delegation included the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Betty Amongi; the State Minister for International Affairs, Henry Oryem Okello; the Permanent Secretary of the Gender Ministry, Aggrey David Kibenge; the Employment Services Commissioner Lawrence Egulu, and IOM Uganda Chief of Mission Sanusi Tejan Savage, among others. The Jordanian side included officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates; Ministry of Labour; IOM Jordan; the Jordan Chamber of Commerce; and recruitment agencies.

Jordan and Uganda entered into a BLMA in 2016 and this was renewed in 2020. But Uganda subsequently suspended the agreement, citing breach of contracts by Jordanian employers.  Yet many Ugandan migrant workers still end up in Jordan recruited through informal channels. Uganda has no diplomatic mission in Jordan, the closest embassy being in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two delegations agreed on steps towards opening a consulate in Aman, reviving the suspended BLMA, and improving consular services for distressed Ugandans, including those in detention.