Location: Paris, The Pierre-Mendès-France Conference Center Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry 139, rue de Bercy - Paris, 12th arrondissement

Proposals on cutting the costs of sending money home and optimising its impact on development

Accreditation

Remittances back home to North Africa and the franc zone from African migrants working abroad are worth tens of billions of euros every year. They are resilient to crisis and are a valuable spur to development in Africa. However, the costs of sending this money are far too high.

The French presidency of the G20 resolved at the Cannes summit in 2011 to cut these costs by half by 2014.

To that end, France and the African Development Bank will be presenting an action plan, based on a new study, at a seminar in Paris on 21 February.

In presence of :

Henri de Raincourt, minister for cooperation

Pierre Lellouche, secretary of state for external trade,

Kamal Elkheshen, vice president, African Development Bank

It will be hosted by the African Development Bank's vice president Kamal Elkheshen, France's secretary of state for external trade, Pierre Lellouche, and the country's minister for cooperation, Henri de Raincourt. The seminar will bring together numerous stakeholders: members of Parliament, government officials, the private sector, banking and the African diaspora, from residence and recipient countries covered by the study.

Kindly bring along your press card if any and an ID document, it will be requested at the welcome booth of the ministry for security reasons.