Reverse Brain Drain: Algeria Recovers Its Competencies and Integrates Them into the Development Path

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Algeria is striving, through several economic, social, and political programs, to encourage Algerian talents residing abroad to return home, in an attempt to establish a reverse migration that ensures local development.

Through investment programs and economic as well as social incentives, Algeria is sending direct and indirect messages to its talents working in the largest global institutions to return in order to participate in the development process.

In this regard, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune met with members of the High Council of the National Scientific Community Abroad, composed of a president and 40 members, who are tasked with providing scientific and technological advice in all areas related to national development axes. He addressed the members of the High Council of the National Scientific Community Abroad, saying: "Your meeting is a great honor for me.. You are the elite of the elite of the country, and Algeria's development needs your presence."

The government's efforts in Algeria to integrate Algerian talents residing abroad have emerged through several steps aimed at resettling migrant Algerians while providing facilities for those who can add value. A group of young migrant entrepreneurs had arrived in Algeria some time ago as part of the program "72 Hours of Entrepreneurship in Algeria," implemented by the national caravan "Young Idea," where they met with officials from various sectors.

Among these was the supervision of the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for the national community abroad, Soufiane Chaib, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, months ago, over an interactive meeting that included a group of Algerian expatriates who have implemented successful investment projects in their homeland, inviting them to realize their ideas and investment initiatives within the country. Among the meetings was also one overseen by the Minister of Health, Mohamed Sidik Ait Massoudan, and the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for the national community abroad, Soufiane Chaib, with a group of Algerian doctors residing in several European countries, to discuss ways to participate in continuing the development of the health system.

In this context, economic analyst Belkacem Haddad believes that Algeria's bet on regaining its expatriate elites and scientists abroad is a cornerstone for breaking dependence on the hydrocarbons sector and establishing an alternative economy.

Haddad explained in a statement to "Al Arabiya.net" that returnees do not bring with them just academic knowledge, but they also transfer intellectual capital and international relations that can accelerate the integration of modern technologies into the local industrial and academic fabric.

The speaker also pointed out that providing an attractive environment for these competencies will reduce the cost of relying on expensive foreign expertise and direct those financial resources towards developing the national innovation system. This scientific presence will give a strong impetus to strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, renewable energies, and precision technological industries, which are essential pillars through which Algeria aspires to achieve a tangible developmental leap.

In conclusion, the expert emphasized the necessity of transforming "digital hemorrhage" or traditional migration into a reverse driving force, establishing a new generation of entrepreneurs and researchers, affirming that this transformation is the only way to give Algeria a competitive advantage in its regional environment and to effectively transition towards a flexible economic model based on knowledge to compensate for the prevailing rentier pattern.