Opening remarks by Hanan Morsy at the second world summit on social development

World Social Summit: Second World Summit on Social Development

4-6 November 2025 - Doha, Qatar

Solutions Session - Side event

‘Unlocking the Potential of Remittances and Diaspora Contributions for Social Development in Africa’

4 November 2025, 3pm to 4:15 pm

Room 2 - In person

Opening Remarks

by

Hanan Morsy,

Chief Economist and Deputy Executive Secretary,

ECA

Honourable Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection of Ghana

Honorable country representatives and Distinguished Participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this event on ‘Unlocking the Potential of Remittances and Diaspora Contributions for Social Development in Africa’.

On behalf of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Ghana and the Government of Tunisia for the important partnership, and for their invaluable collaboration in organizing this side event.

I also would like to extend my sincere appreciation to our host, the Government and the people of Qatar, for their warm hospitality.

Excellencies, distinguished participants,  

Migration is a global phenomenon that impacts the lives of millions. In 2024, there were approximately 304 million international migrants, representing about 3.7% of the global population, producing almost 10% of the global GDP^[1].

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), adopted in Marrakech, Morocco, in December 2018, is the first inter-governmental negotiated agreement in this key area for sustainable development[2] and has given regional commissions the responsibility to support member states in reviewing, monitoring, and implementing the Compact.

Since the launch of the GCM, Africa has made notable progress, but the multiple crises, including COVID-19, climate change, and conflicts, imperil progress against several goals.

The current situation in Africa shows that several challenges remain, and intensive efforts are requested towards implementing the GCM. Countries are expected to better integrate diaspora’s contributions into their national development strategies and utilize remittances for development.

This is extremely critical in the context that remittance inflows to Africa have increased from $53 billion in 2010 to $100 billion in 2024, contributing 5.1% of the continent’s GDP. In fact, remittances are one of Africa’s largest and most stable sources of external finance, and surpassing other inflows that traditionally play an important role, such as official development assistance which is under retrenchment, and foreign direct investment which has been stagnant for most of our countries.

Excellencies, distinguished participants,

ECA is committed to support countries to better achieve the GCM goals, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and African Union Agenda 2063.

Between 2020 to 2023, ECA implemented a programme on migration statistics and skills recognition in Africa, to support countries to achieve targets 1 and 18 of the Compact. It helped reinforce national capacity and empowered countries in collecting, analyzing and disseminating migration-related data.

In addition, since 2023, ECA has been supporting member states to improve migration statistics and introduced legal identity for migrants in East Africa and the Horn of Africa.

Excellencies, distinguished participants,

The positive contribution of African diaspora remains overlooked. Since 2024, ECA has been implementing a programme to strengthen the migration-development nexus in Africa and today’s event is part of this program.

Today’s event is an important opportunity for us to highlight the positive impact of diaspora and remittances on socio-economic development in Africa. It will highlight real-world policy approaches and government programs—like incorporating diaspora involvement into national development strategies—to leverage the transformative potential of remittances in alleviating poverty, promoting social inclusion, and generating employment opportunities.

With your participation and valuable contribution, this side event will help to discuss and formulate concrete recommendations and policy measures that unlock the transformative potential of remittances, particularly in reducing poverty and advancing sustainable development in Africa.

Let's work together to increase diaspora’s positive contribution and, ultimately, contribute to the social prosperity of our continent.

Thank you.