Foreign

THE Office for North Africa of the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the Ministry of Economy and Planning of Tunisia concluded today an inception workshop on the contribution of remittances to national development.

The meeting, which brought together about 60 representatives from various ministries and institutions, explored opportunities to make the most of diaspora engagement. The workshop took place within the framework of ECA’s new program on Strengthening the Migration-Development Nexus in Africa, which aims to provide technical support and increase African countries’ capacity to integrate diasporas’ contribution to national and sectoral, socio-economic plans through remittances.

Remittances have remained stable despite recent shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. They continue to serve as a vital resource for development, said UN Resident Coordinator in Tunisia Arnauld Péral who expressed his gratitude to ECA and the national institutions for their collaboration on this project and highlighted the role of the Ministry of Economy and Planning as a key national partner in this initiative.

National institutions must coordinate effectively to make the most of remittances, said Samia Hamouda, an Economist and Program Manager at the ECA office for North Africa. Remittances are an opportunity that must be fully leveraged, she added as she called for productive discussions to be carried out to identify key priorities for Tunisia to better leverage diaspora’s contribution to development.

Director of African Cooperation at the Tunisian Ministry of Economy and Planning Tarek Bouhlel thanked ECA for its support and collaboration, noting that the program is both timely and impactful. He confirmed that Tunisia’s 2025-2030 national development plan will be an opportunity to mainstream the contribution of remittances as a source to finance development in Tunisia for the first time and called for continued collaboration to ensure its success. Bouhlel also acknowledged national institutions for their active participation in the initiative.

The workshop gathered stakeholders from numerous national public and private institutions including ministries, government agencies in charge of Tunisian expatriates, planning and investment bodies, the United Nations, private sector stakeholders, and civil society organizations.

15th November, 2024.

C.E.

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