ECA, 21st April 2015: The Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) organized on 19-20 May in Rabat (Morocco), with the collaboration of the Ministry in charge of the Ministry in Charge of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs and in partnership with the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia(UN-ESCWA), a meeting on regional experiences in migrant fund transfers in North Africa and how their impact on development can be optimised.
A draft report on: "Fund transfers by Moroccan Expatriates, their context, evolution and prospects for their strengthening" was presented to participants. Various international organisations including UMA, ADB, ILO, IOM, Unicef and Unesco; Moroccan and North African officials and institution representatives, academic structures and research centres took part in the meeting.
While Morocco's relations with its expatriates are not limited to financial ties, it is now time for a transition, from using their transfers for consumption to using them for investment, from using them for micro-projects to using them for bigger investments, said Mr Anis Birrou, Minister in charge of expatriates and migration affairs.
"Statistical evidence clearly shows that migrants' remittances can be powerful financing tools. They can help our populations escape from the vicious cycle of poverty, and become significant levers for our countries to finance development", explained Mrs Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane, Director of the ECA office in North Africa. In 2013, global fund transfers to developing countries accounted for nearly one third of foreign currency inflows, more than half of private capital flows and reached two to three times the size of development aid from OECD development partners.
Remittances are a significant source of external financing for development in North Africa, however, new generations' tendency to settle permanently in host countries and the gradual weakening of family ties with countries of origin suggest that these flows might decrease or remain at the same level, according to the draft report.
In order to counteract this trend, participants agreed on several recommendations including setting up a multisectoral policy to preserve economic, social and cultural ties with expatriate communities; bringing banks closer to local and expatriate populations, and increasing coordination between banks and institutions in charge of investment promotion. Participants stressed the need to support data collection on fund transfers and their impact on development.
This workshop is related to a series of ECA and ESCWA studies on remittances carried out in nine countries including Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Its Office for North Africa aims to support the development of seven countries across the sub region (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia and Sudan) by helping them formulate and implement policies and programs that support their economic and social transformation.
